Good Morning, Islanders Country.
50 games. 99 days. That’s a lot of Islanders hockey - and we hope it’s meaningful hockey. Hockey being played by a team digging their way out of a hole and clawing towards a playoff spot. If the Isles can keep up their recent pace, it’s a possibility. More on that, coming up in a bit.
Over the 50 games, there are 11 back-to-back games, starting with this Friday/Saturday against Arizona and Toronto. Overall, four of the back-to-backs are at UBS Arena, four are on the road and three are split between venues. It’s a sprint and a marathon.
Coming up, we dig into the particulars of the revised NHL schedule and Seymon Varlamov as a trade chip. Plus, Chris Botta catches up with Eric Fichaud, The Nassaumen talk with Dave Pagnotta, and a new Isles Meetups banner to look out for at UBS Arena.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: You can now make your social plans around the Islanders’ schedule again. On Wednesday, the NHL released the makeup dates for games around the league, including nine postponed Islanders’ games and new dates for four games that were moved to accommodate the new schedule.
Per Andrew Gross in Newsday:
Seven games were added to their February schedule to fill the gap originally left empty for a now-scuttled three-week Olympic break. That includes a rescheduled Western Canada swing to Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary from Feb. 9-12 that was originally scheduled for earlier this month.
The Islanders will now make their first visit to Seattle to face the expansion Kraken on Feb. 22, before continuing on their originally scheduled West Coast trip to San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim. That now-five-game swing will end at Colorado on March 1.
🔀 ON THE MOVE? Let’s start by clarifying that in Eric Duhatschek’s latest article with The Athletic, he states that the chances of the Islanders moving Semyon Varlamov are “medium.” What does that mean? Let’s call it a 50/50 chance.
“There’s one real possible destination: Edmonton, where the Oilers could theoretically ship Koskinen ($4.5 million, on an expiring contract) back to the Islanders, making the salary-cap numbers for the current year nearly a wash, and then use Varlamov next year to help bridge the gap until Stuart Skinner is ready to be a No. 1 goalie in the NHL. A pick and a prospect going to the Islanders, in addition to Koskinen’s contract, might get it done.”
The Edmonton Oilers sure are in the middle of a goalie controversy, and if the Islanders are out of the race, is it worth trading Varlamov for a few weeks of Mikko Koskinen, a draft pick, and a prospect? Maybe, however, Lou Lamoriello will be making the upcoming summer that much more important with a new hole created in the Islanders 1B/backup goaltender situation.
💣 CHAR-BOMB: According to Elliot Freidman in his latest 32 Thoughts blog edition, “One (welcome) change for this year’s event: that players not named to the game itself will be able to compete in the skills event.” I think before it’s too late, we all want to see how hard Zdeno Chara can smack a puck before he calls it quits.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders are off on Thursday as they gear up for a back-to-back with the Arizona Coyotes and Toronto Maple Leafs.
📊 STANDINGS:
📚 SOUND SMART: Per amNewYork’s Joe Pantorno, the Islanders have collected 17 of the last 24 possible points. That equates to a 70.8% points percentage. At that rate, over the Islanders’ last 50 games they would finish with 102 points which would see them finish fifth in the Metropolitan Division according to projections.
Assuming the projections ultimately regress to the mean, will 102 points be enough to let the Isles sneak into the playoffs in a juggernaut Metropolitan Division? To illustrate just how big a task it may be, ESPN aired this graphic on Tuesday showing that even the Wild Card teams were currently at a 107 point pace.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: On a bonus episode of Islanders Forecheck with Chris Botta, former Islanders goaltender and current TVA analyst Eric Fichaud joined the show and gave his perspective on the current squad and their goalies after their home-and-home series with the Flyers. Eric also shares memories of his time with the Isles, including the fisherman jersey, visiting John Spano’s house, some of his teammates, and living on Long Island.
Drafted 16th overall by the Maple Leafs in 1994, Fichaud was acquired by GM Don Maloney in a deal that sent Benoit Hogue to Toronto. Across three seasons with the Islanders, Fichaud went 19-34-9 with a 3.14 GAA.
🎧 Nassaumen Hockey Podcast Episode 94: Featuring David Pagnotta, The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta joins James Nichols and Jon Zella this week to talk the latest New York Islanders rumors. Are they in on the Jakob Chychrun sweepstakes? Vladamir Tarasenko? John Klingberg? Are they buyers? Sellers?
🔗 NHL Trade Deadline Big Board: John Klingberg, Jakob Chychrun and 28 others who could be dealt, by Eric Duhatschek, The Athletic: “The complication with Varlamov is that he has a year remaining beyond this one on a contract that also includes a modified no-trade clause in which he can list a whopping 16 teams on his no-trade list.”
🔗 Islanders’ identity line might be getting its mojo back, and not a moment too soon, by Kevin Kurz, The Athletic: “Especially with this homestand we have coming up, it’s definitely big and puts us in a good position right now to keep moving forward and keep climbing those standings,” Cizikas said of the win.”
And we leave you with this…a hand-painted banner is coming to UBS Arena courtesy of the talented fans with Isles Meetups Philly. This fanbase is so talented!
(h/t @annenamocatcat)
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