NEWARK — The Islanders’ best goaltender for the past two weeks — if not the past two months — pulled on a blue baseball cap and plopped on a stool near a corner of the bench. Thomas Greiss had earned the night off. Jaroslav Halak would have to bail out the Islanders.
Only 10 months ago, Halak was the goaltender largely responsible for helping the Islanders make the playoffs and nearly win a round. On Friday, in a tight, grinding game that felt like the postseason, Halak stopped 27 shots to lift the Islanders to a 1-0 victory over the Devils at Prudential Center.