Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Watching Islanders hockey is often a needed distraction, but that was especially true on Sunday night after New York football fans sat through dishearting and deflating Giants and Jets games earlier in the day. However, the Isles wouldn’t add to the Sunday Scaries and were back in the win column after two losses.
Semyon Varlamov was sharp early, and after a video review gave the Isles the lead, the team was dominant during the second period and coasted in the third for a 3-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
It had been eight days since Varly’s last start, and he had only started one of the team’s last six games, but he once again showed his value as a backup in a 21-save performance for his 12th shutout as a member of the Islanders. Vary probably doesn’t need the spotlight, but I’m sure it felt good and positive no one was happier for him than Ilya Sorokin.
The Islanders couldn’t afford to go without points against a Blackhawks team playing the second half of a back-to-back. There are daunting road games looming this month, with matchups in New Jersey, Boston, Colorado, and Las Vegas, so banking points on home ice against a lesser opponent was a must, and after a so-so start, the team found their game, led by Matt Martin who may have been the been the best forward on the ice.
Coming up, the Isles get 40 shots on goal (again), and the advanced stats have Sorokin leading the Vezina race. Plus, how Cal Clutterbuck likes his coffee, Billy Smith’s philosophy on mixing it up, and a cool way fo to control the (video) game.
Let’s dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: The Islanders ended their two-game losing streak behind Semyon Varlamov as the Islanders goaltender made 21 saves in a 3-0 shutout win over the Chicago Blackhawks at UBS Arena on Sunday night. The shutout was Varlamov's first of the year, 12th as an Islander, and 37th in his NHL career. Arvid Soderblom made 37 saves for the Blackhawks (7-13-4), who have lost nine of 10. In the second period, Matt Martin, Zach Parise, and Brock Nelson scored for the Islanders (16-10-0), who had 40+ shots on the goal for the second consecutive game, the first time they’ve done that since March 2018.
KEY MOMENT(s):
🔶 Back on Nov. 1, Casey Cizikas' collision with Alex Starklock knocked the goaltender out of the game, and he has remained on injured reserve since with a concussion. Cizikas was challenged by Reese Johnson at 2:11 of the first period.
🔷 The Islanders had to wait for their first goal. 1:58 went by without anyone realizing (except maybe Matt Martin) that his shot went off the pad and had crossed the goal line. The officials looked at it during the TV timeout and ruled it was a good goal after a lengthy review.
🔶 Parise put himself in position in front of the crease, stick down on the ice, and was able to deflect Adam Pelech’s shot with the shaft to give the Isles a 2-0 lead. For Parise, it was his eighth goal of the season.
🔷 43 seconds later, Anders Lee tapped the puck to a racing Beauvillier down the left side. Beau then sauced a beautiful pass cross-ice to Nelson for a laser of a one-timer to extend the lead to 3-0
3 REACTIONS
❶ GOOD STRUCTURALLY: "I thought structurally we were fairly sound (in the first period)," Lane Lambert said. "We felt like we could be a little bit better heading into the second, and I give our players full credit. They came out, and I would say turned it up a little bit. We took over the game a little bit from there.
❷ IT WAS IN: "I was pretty confident it was in," Matt Martin said. "I came to the bench and said it was in. I told the ref after the whistle that it was in, he said no, and then I think Toronto called it in.”
❸ FEELS AMAZING: "It doesn't matter if it's the first one or number 10, it's always feels great for the goalie to get a shut out," Semyon Varlamov said. "I'm very happy now, it feels amazing every time we get a shutout, even every time you get a win. I feel great. It gives you confidence and you feel amazing
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders take on the St. Louis Blues tomorrow night at UBS Arena. Puck drop is at 7:30 PM ET.
📊 STANDINGS:
📰 NEWS: For Friday’s game versus Nashville, the Islanders recalled Hudson Fasching and Cole Bardreau, with Cal Clutterbuck and Kyle Palmieri out of the lineup. On Saturday, Bardreau was returned to Bridgeport following Friday night’s 6:37 performance in the 4-1 loss to the Predators, where he threw two hits and took two penalty minutes.
◾️ Fasching made his Islanders debut and had a strong game. "Awesome to be back in this league, he said. “It's always a lot of fun. To be able to play with Marty and Cizikas, it was a lot of fun out there." Fasching wore number 20, last worn, of course, by Kieffer Bellows, who was waived last week by the Philadelphia Flyers. Bellows went unclaimed and was sent to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
◾️ Tell us if you’ve heard this before, Robin Salo was recalled from Bridgeport (AGAIN) Sunday afternoon ahead of the Islanders’ game against the Blackhawks. Meanwhile, Josh Bailey returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games with an upper-body injury.
◾️ In Newsday, Andrew Gross spoke with Matt Martin about separating the person he is off the ice from the teammate he needs to be at times on the ice; one that will drop his gloves if necessary to protect a teammate.
🎚ON AND OFF: “I think it’s a pretty easy on-and-off switch,” Martin said. “I’m not somebody that goes looking for fights in the street. Generally, I don’t think I’m an overly aggressive person off the ice. Most guys in here, that competitive fire comes out when the puck drops and you turn into a different person a little bit during those games. And then when it’s done, it’s done.
◾️ It was the second ‘Legends Night’ on Sunday, with the first 10,000 fans getting a limited edition Clark Gillies bobblehead. Ahead of the game, Bobby Nystrom joined Shannon Hogan and talked about his teammate, who he called the “most well-known Islander” for his work on Long Island.
🏆 TROPHY TRACKER: Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic published his latest NHL awards watch, and it should be no surprise that the Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin is the leader in the Vezina Trophy race. His 21.4 GSAx leads the NHL and is one of the biggest reasons the Islanders are in the playoff picture today.
👨👦 FAMILY AFFAIR: Jimmy Lambert made his AHL debut for the Bridgeport Islanders this weekend, suiting up for the Jr. Varsity squad for the first time on Saturday night. Lambert, the nephew of Islanders head coach Lane Lambert, collected the primary helper with a chance in tight on a goal scored by Collin Adams. Both Lambert and Adams were recalled from the ECHL’s Worcester Railers on Thursday.
☕️ CAFFEINATED: Each Islander was surveyed this weekend on how they take their coffee. Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise at all based on the energy he brings on the ice every night, but Cal Clutterbuck’s coffee order might have something to do with his ability to wreak havoc ⬇️
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, the Isles outshot the opponent in each period for the second straight game; this also happened in October vs. Anaheim and San Jose after not happening in consecutive games since January 2015. Semyon Varlamov tied Ilya Sorokin and Jaroslav Halak for 5th place on the Isles' shutout list (12); his current shutout streak is 90:32.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: In lieu of telling you what happened on December 5th in Islanders history, we’re going in a different direction, and this clip was too good to ignore. Billy Smith was a different kind of goaltender. He deemed himself “the dirtiest player in the game” during his time manning the Islanders’ net, sending a message to the rest of the league stating what would happen if they entered his paint, and he definitely kept his promise throughout the years.
🔗 Islanders' Robin Salo stays positive despite being sent to Bridgeport, by Andrew Gross, Newsday: “The infectious smile Robin Salo greets people with has remained consistent from Day 1 of training camp. That says something about the affable Finnish defenseman’s personality and outlook despite currently being assigned to the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport after being a healthy scratch for 20 straight NHL games with the Islanders.”
🔗 Pageau & Ping Pong, Bubble Tournament & More by Stefan Rosner, NYIHockeyNow “The New York Islanders play hockey. But with the acquisition of Jean-Gabriel Pageau at the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline, the versatile forward brought more than just his hockey skill set. He brought a love for ping pong.”
And we leave you with this …. the holidays are here, and Faze gaming clan has teamed up with the Islanders to collaborate on these awesome, limited edition, Islanders-themed Xbox and Playstation controllers. Enter for your chance to win below!
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