Good Morning, Islanders Country.
The Islanders want a break from breaks.
"We've had so many breaks, I don't know when the season really started for us,” quipped head coach Barry Trotz on Monday.
It’s funny (or sad) because it’s true.
The Isles haven’t been able to find an operating rhythm all season, and with each pause and postponement, it’s grown more frustrating for coaches and players alike. Just as their game was amping up and gaining some traction, came more postponements and another break. Starting Wednesday, the team will attempt to regain their recent trend in the right direction while facing new adversity.
Coming up, Mathew Barzal is happy to see everyone and the Taxi Squad picks up two more passengers. Plus, why Simon Holmstrom has earned a chance, a Long Island politician chimes in, and a look back at Isles performances at the World Juniors.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders were back at practice for the second consecutive day on Monday following the postponement of their scheduled road game against the Buffalo Sabres. Kyle Palmieri did not participate, but skated on his own. No timetable has been provided for his return.
While three additional NHL games were postponed yesterday, Wednesday night’s game against the Detroit Red Wings is expected to be played. The Islanders have shown modest improvement in their game this month, collecting points in seven of nine games in December (3-2-4). The match up with the Red Wings will be the Isles’ first game in 10 days.
🏒 BACK IN ACTION: For Mathew Barzal, Monday’s postponement allowed him an extra day to get his legs underneath him and get back up to speed. The 24-year-old has five goals and 12 assists (17 points) in 23 games this season and was thrilled to be back with his teammates after 10 very lonely days in COVID-19 protocol. He also shared disappointment in not being able to play for Team Canada at the Olympics in 2022.
SPARKED: “I stayed in Detroit for a little while and when I was able to come back, I did,” Barzal said during media availability. “Being back on the ice the last two days with the team, my whole emotion and energy was sparked.”
BACK WITH THE BOYS: "It's tough spending 10 days by yourself isolated, it sucks really, it's not fun, it's not easy. I'm thrilled to be back with the boys."
HITTING THE WALL: "He could feel the after-effects the first practice, I thought he hit a bit of a wall earlier," Trotz said of Barzal’s first day back on the ice. "When you're off for that length of time, you're going to hit a wall… today he was fine."
UNFORTUNATE: “I think the talent on display would’ve been the best ever,” Barzal said. “It’s unfortunate as a sport and as a league. But going to China with the quarantine… there were a lot of weird and odd rules and whatnot so it would’ve been difficult.”
🚖 RIDESHARE: We mentioned yesterday that the teams could add as many as six players to the taxi squad following the announced NHL and NHLPA temporary changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The Islanders added three players on Sunday (Simon Holmstrom, Grant Hutton, and Cole Bardreau) and made two more transactions late on Monday with Michael Dal Colle and Austin Czarniak being added to the taxi squad.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders’ next contest is slated for tomorrow when they host the Detroit Red Wings at UBS Arena once again. They are 0-1-1 in two games against Detroit this season. “Given the fact the NHL canceled some (Wednesday) games and didn’t cancel ours, I’d assume we’re going to play,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “That’s the mindset we wanted to get across to our players today so you kind of move as business as usual.”
📊 STANDINGS:
🇸🇪 EARNED IT: 2019 first-round pick Simon Holmstrom hasn’t dominated the AHL in the way teams hope a top draft pick would, but that doesn’t mean the improvement in his overall game has gone unnoticed or unappreciated. As Michel Anderson writes in Eyes on Isles, Holmstrom has earned the opportunity to be on the team’s taxi squad and potentially see his first NHL action.
Holmstrom has had a vastly more impactful year with the B-Islanders than in his two previous seasons. His 15 points through 28 games this year have already matched his current career-high from his rookie year in the AHL of 15 points in 46 games.
But it goes beyond production (as it always should). Holmstrom is playing a more consistent game on both ends of the ice this year. Charged with top-six minutes just about every night Holmstrom is having a similar impact defensively as he is offensively.
🏙 ALL POLITICS ARE LOCAL: Well, you can’t say he hasn’t been consistent. Incoming Nassau County Executive, Bruce Blakeman, was an opponent of the Islanders new arena being built at Belmont Park, and on Monday voiced displeasure with the parking situation at UBS Arena, stating that opening without a parking garage would not have happened if the building was controlled by the Town of Hempstead rather than New York State.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: A very happy milestone birthday to a consistent Islander through the mid-to-late ‘90s as Bryan Smolinski turned 50 on Monday. Smolinski was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins by Mike Milbury in November 1996 for fan-favorite defenseman Darius Kasparaitis and the little-used forward Andreas Johansson. ''It's no secret that we've basically been a one-line team,'' Milbury said at the time of the trade. ''I'm hoping that Bryan will add some balance to our offensive attack.'' Smolinski played three seasons for the Islanders, registering 57 goals and 82 assists in 227 games before being traded in June 1999 to the Los Angeles Kings as part of an eight-player deal that included Zigmund Palffy.
🎧 Nassaumen Hockey Podcast: After a brief delay with their special guest, and the league’s postponement over the holiday break, James and Jon are back at it this week with a great interview. Make sure to tune in Wednesday morning and keep an eye out on Twitter for a Q&A with their upcoming guest.
🔗 Islanders’ Mathew Barzal on quarantine, NHL opting out of Olympics: ‘It sucks,’ Joe Pantorno, AMNY: “I stayed in Detroit for a little while and when I was able to come back, I did,” Barzal said, who skated with the Islanders on Sunday and Monday. “Being back on the ice the last two days with the team, my whole emotion and energy was sparked. It was tough being 10 days by yourself, isolated.”
🔗 Simon Holmstrom has earned Islanders call up, Mitch Anderson, Eyes on Isles: “But Holmstrom has had a vastly more impactful year with the B-Islanders than in his two previous seasons. His 15 points through 28 games this year have already matched his current career-high from his rookie year in the AHL of 15 points in 46 games.”
And we leave you with this…With no Isles players at the World Juniors tournament this year, the team looked back at some past performances from one of the most exciting hockey events of the year.
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