Good Morning, Islanders Country.
That’s what we’ve been missing.
Mat Barzal ‘let 12 days of emotion out’ after his game-winning goal and UBS Arena let out 12 days’ worth of pent-up emotion as the Islanders defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-2 to start their crucial 11 game stretch before the All-Star Game with a win.
Coming up, the #PelechPosse is heading to the All-Star Game and the Isles Family welcomes two new additions. Plus, the stories behind the Isles’ number choices and the power-play hasn’t been this hot at home since 1996!
Let’s dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: Mathew Barzal one-timed a pass from Josh Bailey with 4:53 left in the third period to lift the Islanders to a 3-2 win over the New Jersey Devils at UBS Arena on Thursday night in their first game since New Year’s Day. Bailey and newly-named All-Star Adam Pelech scored and Zach Parise added two assists for the Islanders. The Isles extended its point streak to five games (4-0-1). Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves and collected his ninth win of the season.
Yegor Sharangovich and Nathan Bastian scored as New Jersey lost for the third time in four games and Jon Gillies made 22 saves in his first start since Dec. 19. Devils’ forward Jack Hughes was also named an All-Star for the first time before the game.
🔑 KEY MOMENT(s):
🔷 Down 1-0, the “Josh Bailey goal song” was heard for the first time at UBS Arena. On the power-play, the Isles second-unit gained control and worked the puck to Anthony Beauvillier who made a nice fake to get a shot on net. With Parise causing traffic in front, Bailey found the loose puck for his first goal since October 24th.
🔶 Kieffer Bellows’ shot loosens Gillies’ mask a bit, but play continued and the Isles retrieved the puck on the forecheck. Bellows fed the puck to Pelech and his shot deflected in off a Devil with Parise once again in front to grab the lead 2-1. Bellows earned an assist on the goal, giving him eight points in his last eight games.
🔻 A Brock Nelson cross-check sent New Jersey to the Power-Play for the second time in the third period and this time, they converted. Bastian deflected Ty Smith’s shot from the point to tie the game at 2 at 10:25 of the third period.
🔷 Playing 4-on-4, Barzal found open ice and dropped a pass to Bailey who returned the puck through the Devils defense to ‘Barzy’ for a one-timer and a 3-2 lead. Barzal now has points in the last nine games (3-11-14), including four multi-assist games.
3 REACTIONS
❶ COMING TOGETHER: It's been a challenging first 20-something games of the season for us as a group," Parise said. "Now we're close to getting a full lineup back… we're playing some good hockey, we're finding different ways to win, special teams are coming together, we're getting back to that stingy hockey that we're comfortable playing. We have a lot of ground to make up, but we start with tonight, it's a big win, a team we have to catch."
❷ A GOOD TEAM WIN: "Everyone knows where we are at in the standings," Barzal said. "We have a lot of games in hand, so we have to start winning hockey games. Tonight was great, after 12 days… It was a good team win."
❸ EMPHASIS: "We put a lot of emphasis on this one, we wanted to come out ready," Bailey said. "It was just trying to find a result. It was great to get the win and we'll start getting ready for Saturday."
⏭ NEXT UP: The New York Islanders return to UBS Arena on Saturday afternoon to host the Washington Capitals at 2 p.m. It'll be the first meeting of the season between the Metro Division rivals.
📊 STANDINGS:
📰 NEWS: 27-year-old defenseman Adam Pelech is an NHL All-Star for the first time. Since his rookie season (2016-17), Pelech leads the team in plus/minus with a +46, as well as this season with a +4 rating. In his career, the 2012 3rd round pick has 80 points (16 goals and 64 assists). He signed an 8-year extension in the off-season.
The 2022 All-Star Game is being held in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena. The always entertaining Skills Competition will take place on Friday, Feb. 4th with the All-Star Game set for Saturday, Feb. 5th.
Pelech is the first Islanders’ defenseman to be named an All-Star since Mark Streit in 2009. The Isles had three defensemen play in the game in the 2000s (Roman Hamrlik ‘03, Adrian Aucoin ‘04). Kenny Jonsson was named an All-Star in 1999 but did not play in the game. Mathieu Schneider and Scott LaChance represented the Isles in 1996 and 1997 respectively.
👶🏻 SPECIAL DELIVERIES: The Isles family just grew a little bigger. Before the game, the Islanders announced Sebastian Aho and JG Pageau would miss the game, but for a good reason - their wives both gave birth earlier in the day. Moms and babies are healthy and doing well. Congrats!
🔢 BY THE NUMBERS: In an amusing Q&A with the team, NewYorkIslanders.com asked the players the story, if any, behind their jersey numbers.
Here are two of the best and one of the shortest responses:
Anders Lee - No. 27: “Pretty simple, I wore 9 all growing up. I went to play junior hockey and 9 wasn't available. My favorite number was gone and 27 was as simple as 2 and 7 is 9. I've grown to fall in love with it. It was kind of the same thing when I got to the Island, it was back to 27 after wearing 9 in college. With Clark Gillies [having retired No. 9] and now, John Tonelli too, I have a track record of picking a number that's going to be retired.”
Adam Pelech - No. 3: “No.”
Andy Greene - No. 4: “Ryan Pulock actually offered me 6 when I first got here. That was unbelievable for him to offer that. But what I told him and what I told Lou was that, '[Number] six was given to me by Lou a long time ago. It wasn't a number I chose. It was my number, but there was no personal attachment to it besides just being my number. So, I said just give me a number. So [Lou] gave me 4.”
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in “The Skinny,” The Isles have scored a power-play goal in five straight games. It is the first time they have done this since December 2017, when they scored in six straight games. The Isles have also scored a power-play goal in eight straight home games; it is the first time they have done that (in a single season) since January 9-February 10, 1996. They have not had a longer streak since scoring in club-record 14-straight home games from February 13-April 10, 1993.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: On January 13, 2018, rookie Mathew Barzal had his second five-point game of the season, and his line combined for 12 points in the New York Islanders' 7-2 win against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Barzal joined Bryan Trottier as the only rookie in team history to have multiple five-point games in a single season.
"Just tried going across the net, but you can't really just pick those spots," Barzal said about his back-hand goal that made it 3-1. "It was just kind of lucky, found its way in."
🔗 Barry Trotz’s blueprint for dealing with Islanders’ schedule, roster uncertainty by Ethan Sears, New York Post “As the coach of the Portland (Maine) Pirates, then the AHL affiliate of the Capitals, Trotz was constantly phoning agents to deal with injuries and call-ups decimating his lineup plans on a nightly basis. His assistant coach, Paul Gardner, had to suit up in practice regularly and even played in a game. When it snowed in Maine and opponents couldn’t get in safely, postponements piled up. A group that had won the 1993-94 Calder Cup two seasons prior sat well below .500.”
🔗 Isles Youngsters Provided Needed Spark by James Nichols, The Fourth Period “At the average age of 29.12 years old, the New York Islanders are the oldest team in the NHL. A Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz-led team has always been hesitant to ice their young players. However, in yet another season where COVID is a constant issue, the Islanders have been left with no choice when multiple players are out of commission at a time. With the youth receiving increased roles, it has paid dividends for the Islanders of late.”
And we leave you with this …. Team USA unveiled the 25 players that would be representing the stars and stripes at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Among the future Olympians is former Islanders’ defenseman, Aaron Ness. The 2012 2nd round pick played 29 career games on Long Island, scoring 1G with 2A. Ness is currently on an AHL-only deal and is a member of the Providence Bruins.
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.