NHL scores 2016: An Islanders win has saved Jack Capuano’s job for another day

If underperformance issues were a problem for Florida in head coach Gerard Gallant’s recent firing, it’s a surprise Jack Capuano has held on this long in New York.

Alright, sure, Islanders GM Garth Snow gave Capuano a vote of confidence earlier this month. Yet Gallant was given a multi-year contract extension at the start of this calendar year and look where he’s at right now.

So, you can mark off your cards if you had Capuano as the first head coach to be fired this year. The odds were good, real good, considering just where the Islanders are right now as a team. New York won just their third game in November on Monday, a 2-1 victory that took overtime to decide it.

The Islanders will play one more game this month, Wednesday against the Penguins. Either way you slice it, three or four wins over a 12-game span isn’t good. The Islanders have a lot of problems right now. Scoring is a big one, and it’s costing them games. And even when they do win, it’s only by a one-goal margin.

Would a loss on Monday have been the final nail in the coffin for Capuano? It’s hard to say. I don’t think anyone would have predicted Gallant’s departure so soon, and Montreal can tell you all about what it’s like to have a coach way past their welcome. But a win has at least kept the wolves at bay and away from Capuano, for now.

Islanders 2, Flames 1 (OT)
Blues 4, Stars 3 (OT)

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1. Sean Monahan got put in the dog house, and made the most of it

With Johnny Gaudreau out for at least another month, the Flames have a desperate need for goals. Sean Monahan, one such young star that many were hoping would step up in Gaudreau’s absence, hasn’t provided much assistance with no points in five games coming into Monday. Unhappy with the production, head coach Glen Gulutzan put Monahan on the fourth line.

And look, it worked! Monahan scored the Flames tying goal, his sixth of the season, that helped the Flames gain a point.

2. Colton Parayko continues to be an assist machine for the Blues

After putting up a helper on the Blues’ second goal, second-year defenseman Colton Parayko has nine assists in his last 11 games. He’s already past the one-third mark of surpassing his 33 points from his rookie year, and Parayko has no goals yet on the season!

3. Jamie Oleksiak is the reason the Stars got a point last night

The Stars defenseman got goals No. 2 and 3 in the eventual 4-3 loss to the Blues, but he was a big part of getting Dallas a point. His first goal of the evening, especially, is something to see.

Dallas had just 21 shots on goal through the 63 minutes and change it took for the Blues to win out. But hey, a point is a point!

Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech got plastered along the boards midway through New York’s win versus Calgary.

Pelech stayed on the bench for the rest of the period, but was then ruled out with an upper-body injury.