Belief System
Isles showing you why Lou kept the status quo
Good Morning, Islanders Country.
The Islanders put on display all the best elements of their game last week, albeit not all in the same game. They were resilient against Toronto, controlled play versus Edmonton, dealt with adversity in Columbus, and showed grit and toughness when facing the undermanned Flyers.
Oh, and they have Ilya Sorokin.
If you were a believer in GM Lou Lamoriello bringing the band back together, last week reinforced your belief. What the Islanders lack in top-flight scoring, they make up for something just as rare - four lines that can beat you on any given night - and in different ways.
Players like JG Pageau and Zach Parise always bring effort, but when they’re finding the net, the Isles can be a dangerous offensive team, too. Combined with the clutch scoring of Brock Nelson, play-making Mathew Barzal, and a defense that produces offense, the Islanders are showing signs of a team that can return to Stanley Cup contender status.
Are the Islanders explosive? No. Are they entertaining? Sometimes. But at their best, the Isles are a complete team, one that Lou kept intact.
Coming up, Ilya earns third star of the week honors, and Romy finds the whole Flyer situation funny. Plus, Pulock’s four assists are put in perspective, one final win for Eric Fichaud, and Jiggs celebrates a birthday.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: After Monday’s practice, head coach Lane Lambert confirmed that forward Kyle Palmieri (upper body) would not join the team for their trip to Philadelphia tonight. It will be the fourth straight game Palmieri has missed.
◾️Defenseman Robin Salo was quickly recalled on Monday morning after being loaned to Bridgeport. In Sunday’s game vs. Springfield, Salo recorded an assist in Bridgeport's 6-4 win.
◾️ Over in Newsday, Andrew Gross writes about the always streaky Anthony Beauvillier, who, since going 10 games without a goal, has two goals in his last four games and feels he’s on the other side of his scoring slump.
◾️GOALS ARE GOING TO COME: “The points are coming hard for me lately, and I’m just trying to play my game, said Beauvillier. As long as you have chances and you feel good about yourself, points are points, they’re going to come at some point. I’m not worried about that.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️ THIRD STAR: After winning three games and stopping 103 of 107 shots (3-0-0 1.32 GAA .963 save pct), Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin was named NHL 3rd Star of the Week on Monday. Per the team’s press release, Sorokin has a 10-5-0 record through 15 starts so far this season. This month, Sorokin has a 7-2-0 record, a goals-against average of 2.17, and a save percentage of .933, helping the Islanders earn 10 wins in November for the fourth time in franchise history.
😂 A LAUGHING MATTER: Ahead of tonight’s rematch with the Flyers, Stefan Rosner caught up with Alexander Romanov in NYIHockeyNow, and he had a humorous take on how things transpired after his hit on Kevin Hayes.
◾️IT’S HILARIOUS: “I don’t know why guys doesn’t like clean hits now,” Romanov said. “Hockey has changed. Like 10 years, 15 years ago, like, it wasn’t even [big] hit. It wasn’t even big hit. That’s hilarious, you know. For me, it’s just fine because guys dropped the gloves after this. Like it’s not even hit.”
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders are in Philadelphia tonight to play their second game of a home-and-home with the Flyers. Face-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM ET.
📊 STANDINGS:
🤑 STEAL OF A DEAL: In yesterday’s newsletter, we wrote about the value Zach Parise was bringing to the Islanders compared to the other over 70 NHL players making 750K. On Monday, we were given more numbers, this time from TSN’s Gord Miller, that showed that at a cost-per-goal perspective, Parise has the second-lowest number in the league at $107,142 after his two-goal game.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Ryan Pulock is the third Islander defenseman with multiple four-assist games:
Denis Potvin (7 times)
Stefan Persson (twice)
Ryan Pulock (1-20-2018 at Chicago and 11-26-2022 vs. Philadelphia)
Pulock had three assists in the third period. It is the second career three-assist period (also February 2, 2019, vs. Los Angeles). He is the first Islanders defenseman since Jeff Norton (twice in the 1989-90 season) with multiple three-assist periods. (Potvin did this five times and Persson three times; no Islander defenseman has ever had four assists in a period.)
🗓 THIS DATE IN ISLANDERS HISTORY: 25 years ago, on November 29th, 1997, the Islanders defeated the St. Louis Blues 4-2 in the 1,000th regular-season game ever played at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Bryan Berard scored a highlight reel goal to make it 2-0 early in the first period after Sergei Nemchinov opened the scoring 3:14 into the game.
Trailing 3-0 after one, St. Louis outshot the Isles 20-3 in the third period and 36-20 overall, but Eric Fichaud made 34 saves to preserve the win. For Fichaud, it was his final win as a member of the Islanders.
🎧 Eyes on Isles Podcast: The Best Week Ever: Joe Buono (@IslesFix) and Andy Francess (@AndyFrancess) react to a week's worth of Islanders wins that put on display all the reasons why this team can still be a Stanley Cup contender.
🔗 Here’s What Romanov & Mayfield Had To Say on Saturday’s Scrum With Flyers by Stefan Rosner, NYIHockeyNow “The hit was not dirty by any means, but Flyers forward Nick Deslauriers took exception as he jumped Romanov, leading to a scrum. Scott Mayfield immediately went in to defend Romanov, while Oliver Wahlstrom went at it with Tony DeAngelo.”
🔗 Anthony Beauvillier shows signs of breaking out of scoring slump by Andrew Gross, Newsday “Always a streaky player in his seven NHL seasons, Beauvillier had a goal and an assist in the Islanders’ 5-2 win over the Flyers at UBS Arena on Saturday night, giving him two goals in four games after going 10 games without a goal.”
And we leave you with this…a very Happy Birthday to long-time Islanders play-by-play announcer Jiggs McDonald who turned 84 years young on Monday!
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I love your blog and your comment about the belief system and Lou is spot on. We have something that works. Why go out and break it to try and fix it? This team reminds me of the 2006 Canes. No real superstars but a bunch of hardworking guys who believed in each other and a standout goalie in Cam Ward. Last Stop for them was the Cup.