Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Well, the Islanders weren’t “Sleepless in Seattle.” They were wide awake and ready to go, scoring the first goal for a change. In fact, they scored the first four goals, blitzing Seattle Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer to take a 4-0 lead midway through the second on their way to a 5-2 win to start their road trip.
"At the end of the day, you've got to find a way to score some goals and we did that," coach Barry Trotz said. "You've got to find a way to have a good start, we did that. You've got to find a way to stay disciplined and for the most part, we did that.” It was like … magic.
Coming up, Chris Chelios braces for his record to be broken as trade rumors swirl around the man breaking it. Plus, Barzal returns home to his junior home and a reminder to always believe in miracles. But first, a recap of last night’s 5-2 win.
Let’s dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: In their first trip to Climate Pledge Arena, the New York Islanders (19-20-7) defeated the Seattle Kraken 5-2 on Tuesday night. Zach Parise had his first three-point game as an Islander with two goals and an assist. Mathew Barzal recorded two assists in his first game back in Seattle since his time with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. Kyle Palmieri scored his fourth goal in his last four games and Ilya Sorokin stopped 23 of 25 shots in the victory. Yanni Gourde had a goal for Seattle (16-33-4) and has six goals in 11 regular-season games against New York. The Isles now have points in three consecutive games and two wins in their last three games.
🔑 KEY MOMENT(s):
🔷 The Islanders got off to a good start as Brock Nelson took a feed from Anthony Beauvillier and snapped a shot past Kraken netminder Philipp Grubauer to give the Isles the opening goal of the game at 11:07 of the first period.
🔶 Zach Parise would score the first of his two goals on the night as Noah Dobson’s shot banked off Parise’s leg as he was screening Grubauer. The referees initially called the goal off for goalie interference but reversed the call which gave the Isles a 2-0 lead with 2:41 left in the opening frame.
🔷 Kyle Palmieri continued his recent surge as he gave the Isles a 3-0 lead at 5:34 of the second finishing off a beautiful pass from Parise.
🔶 Casey Cizikas made it 4-0 Islanders five minutes after Palmieri’s tally, as a Scott Mayfield shot ricocheted off the backboards right to his stick into a yawning cage.
🔷 With the Kraken pressing in the third to make it a one-goal game, Ilya Sorokin made an incredible stop on Morgan Geekie just getting a piece of his backhand attempt.
3 REACTIONS
❶ AWESOME SHOWING: “He was awesome,” Zach Parise said in praising Sorokin’s game. “I think it was 4-2 when he made that huge save. It could have really gotten their crowd into it and gotten them really excited. But to keep it at 4-2, and make those big saves that he did was massive for us to be able to come out with a win.”
❷ SHAKE IT OFF: “It’s always good to start off with a win on a road trip, especially after last game,” said Casey Cizikas. “We came out hungry tonight and that’s something we have to continue to do from here on.”
❸ SHOWCASING HIS SKILLS: “You talk about a game where you have the right balance offensively and defensively,” Barry Trotz said about Barzal. “I thought Mat’s game was really strong. He showcased a real complete game and got rewarded. He created lots, his puck management was good and his d-zone, 200-foot game was really solid. I like that game.”
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders continue their west-coast swing on Thursday night in San Jose against the Sharks. Face-off is set for 10:30 p.m. ET at SAP Center.
📊 STANDINGS:
📰 NEWS: Forward Oliver Wahlstrom (upper-body) was kept out of the lineup for the third straight game. The decision to hold Wahlstrom back delays a decision for Barry Trotz who will have to decide whether Kiefer Bellows ends up as a healthy scratch or if a veteran forward takes a seat when Wahlstrom returns. Andy Greene remained a healthy scratch as Sebastian Aho remained in the lineup.
TIED AT THE TOP: Defenseman Zdeno Chara played in his 1,651st NHL game on Tuesday to tie Chris Chelios for most games ever played by a defenseman.
In a story for NHL.com, Brian Compton gets a reaction from ex-Islander Bryan McCabe, Noah Dobson, Barry Trotz, and the man he is passing, Chelios.
"[It's remarkable], especially for a guy his size (6-foot-9, 250 pounds), how long he's lasted and how effective he's been throughout his career," Chelios told NHL.com. "I've met Zdeno a couple of times and spoke with him, but you talk with anyone around the League, he's just a great guy, a great team guy.
"I'm not going to say I'm happy, but it doesn't bother me one bit that a guy like him is the guy breaking the record. Congratulations to him, it's a heck of a feat."
💨 TRADE WINDS: Earlier in the day, Stefen Rosner of NYI Hockey Now reported that Chara could be moved to a contender after breaking the record. The idea that Chara would be on the trade market is not surprising, the Islanders are in a position where every player on an expiring contract that could be moved, probably should be moved. For Chara, there’s likely a team that believes that his presence and leadership are worth a mid-to-late round pick to provide some defensive depth for teams hoping for a long playoff run.
What was surprising was this “source indicated the Islanders and GM Lou Lamoriello are waiting for Chara to break the record before moving him.” Now, this could just be convenient timing as Chara will break the record a little less than a month before the trade deadline. However, that comment had some fans rationalizing that the pursuit for the record was the reason why Chara continues to stay in the lineup - to do it as an Islander.
Given the “team first” attitude of Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz, it is hard for me to fathom that they would put an individual milestone for any player, let alone one with mostly a nostalgic connection to the franchise ahead of winning games.
🏠 HOMECOMING, SORTA: Before becoming a two-time All-Star and a Calder Trophy winner with the Islanders, Mathew Barzal was leading the Seattle Thunderbirds to the WHL title in 2017. Last night, Barzal made his return to the Puget Sound region against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena.
"I know tomorrow night there's probably going to be a bunch of Thunderbird fans," Barzal told reporters on Monday afternoon after the team's skate. "I texted our assistant coach from when I was playing here, and it sounds like the whole Seattle Thunderbirds team and staff are coming. It's just awesome to be back."
Perhaps it is PTSD from the John Tavares departure, but there is always the smallest seed of concern that Barzal could be one day wooed to return to Seattle and play with the Kraken. As early as when the expansion city was granted an NHL team, doom and gloom fans made that connection. Barzal signed a three-year bridge deal before the 2021 season which means he is still a Restricted Free Agent (RFA) when that deal comes to an end, making a move to the Pacific Northwest unlikely - at least for now.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in “The Skinny,” the Isles scored the first goal for only the second time in the last thirteen games; they have led 5-0 and 4-0 in the two games in that stretch that they have scored first Mathew Barzal's assist was his 286th point, tying Ed Westfall for 26th place in club history; he also tied Nick Leddy for 19th in assists with his 198th. Zach Parise scored twice for the first time since January 14, 2020; it was the 51st multi-goal game of his career. He also added an assist for his first three-point game since January 28, 2020. Parise now has 399 career goals (only eight active players have scored 400; Corey Perry is also at 399).
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: Yesterday marked the 42nd anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, arguably the most memorable sporting event in American history. On February 22, 1980, a group of college kids beat the best hockey team in the world, stunning the Soviet Union, 4–3 at the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid to advance to the Gold medal game. Among those players, was Islanders’ Hall of Famer Ken Morrow.
Morrow would go from winning gold at the Winter Olympics to winning the first of four Stanley Cups with the Islanders later that Spring. "Looking back, it kind of shaped my career in a hurry," Morrow told NHL.com five years ago. "Many players don't get to experience one of those things. First, I just remind myself how fortunate I was. I enjoy talking about it with people years later. They still ask, they want to know and they remember."
🎧 Island Ice Ep. 127: Buyers or Sellers? Answering your Isles questions with Newsday’s Andrew Gross “Host Andrew Gross takes you through the Isles' situation heading into the Seattle game, plus an extended edition of Andrew's Answers to your questions.”
🎧 Islanders Anxiety - Episode 191 - Waiting for Themselves with Dan Saraceni and Michael Leeboff “Mike and Dan discuss what players could move at the trade deadline and how most national writers miss the point by looking at the Islanders’ CapFriendly page and not at the infinite number of layers underneath the roster. If you want to know, talk to well-adjusted Islanders fans (like us!)”
🔗 Could Mat Barzal leave the Islanders for Seattle? by Peter Schwartz “Since beginning his NHL career in 2016-17, Barzal has been back to Vancouver several times with the Islanders, but now he is getting ready for his first taste of NHL hockey in Seattle, as the Islanders begin their road trip Tuesday night against the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena.”
And we leave you with this …. yesterday was TWOS-DAY, the coolest date of the decade, and for Islanders’ fans, it was Mike Bossy day and another opportunity to celebrate and send our best wishes to the purest goal scorer in NHL history.
Want more fun with yesterday’s date? The Isles played their 22nd home game of the 2021-22 campaign on 2/2/22 against Seattle. Last night they played their 22nd road game of the season, on 2/22/22, in Seattle.
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter for regular updates until the next newsletter.
And please check out our newsletters about the Knicks and Mets, too.