Okposo's goal: That's what Isles were talking about

Kyle Okposo would not stop digging. He scoured the corner boards for the puck, taking it away from the Devils' Adam Larsson. Then he kept churning back toward the middle of the ice, saw his way through a jumble of skates and sticks and fired the only goal of the game.

That is the sort of rugged, determined creativity the Islanders saw when they drafted him in the first round and encouraged him to leave college early. It was reminiscent not of the days early this season when Okposo was a healthy scratch, but of hard-nosed right wings from the Islanders' past. Patrick Flatley comes to mind.

"I just tried to be strong tonight. I really just want to get back to kind of wanting the puck," he said of his 15th goal. "I want to make plays. I want it on my stick, and I think it showed. When you have that kind of mind-set, I think the puck tends to follow you."

Coach Jack Capuano, who had Okposo skating with Nino Niederreiter and Casey Cizikas, said: "I thought he had good puck protection, he had good strength . . . You have to be strong on your stick, you have to win those little battles."

Okposo's battle is to be consistent. "I've really made a conscious effort the last few games just to be strong, be hard on the puck," he said. "Tonight it really paid off. I've just got to shoot the puck a little bit more and I'll get my chances."

A trio of DevilsThe Islanders will play the Devils in Newark on Thursday and at the Coliseum on Saturday. It will be the first time in their 40-year history they will play three straight regular-season games against one opponent.