The Colorado Avalanche will tangle with the New York Islanders at UBAS Arena on Thursday night. But this isn’t any old, run-of-the-mill regular-season matchup. Thursday night’s tilt marks the first time that Brock Nelson will return to Long Island following last season’s trade-deadline deal.
Nelson enters the matchup on a heater. He’s notched three goals and five points in his last two games. He’s been growing increasingly confident as the Avalanche’s second line of Landeskog-Nelson-Colton has clicked of late. The line has been playing so well that Valeri Nichushkin rode the third line upon his return from injury.
But on Thursday night, all eyes will be on Brock Nelson. He was the Islanders’ first-round selection in the 2010 NHL Draft. The Isles took him 30th overall. Nelson played 901 games with the Islanders. He scored 295 goals and totaled 574 points in that span.
However, a contract standoff prompted the Islanders to trade Nelson to the Colorado Avalanche last season. The trade has looked all right for the Avs. Nelson registered 13 points in 19 games last season. This year, his 17 points in 26 games have been on par with what the club has expected of the 34-year-old veteran.
Most importantly, Nelson has been a key contributor for what looks to be a historic season for Colorado. The Avalanche enter their showdown with the Islanders sporting a 19-1-6 mark. The remarkable record is even more impressive when considering the Avalanche’s +50 goal differential and 9-0-1 mark in the last 10 games.
The Isles, meanwhile, have gotten off to a better-than-expected start this season. The club has been resilient and is in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race. If the Avalanche’s last meeting with the Islanders is any indication, Colorado should be in for a tough game. The Avs beat the Isles 4-1 on November 16, but that game was much closer than the score suggested. The game was 2-1 until the final minute of the third period. The Avs scored two goals in the last minute, including one from Brock Nelson, to ice the win.
It would be a fitting return for Nelson if he could score against his former team once again.