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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
If you haven’t bought into the Islanders yet, they have an opportunity tonight to change your mind (maybe). The Isles host the Boston Bruins as they try to put an exclamation point on their six-game holiday homestand.
A week ago, yes, one short week, the Isles had just blown a three-goal third-period lead to the NHL’s worst team, and the chants of “Fire Lambert” were as loud as ever as fans exited UBS Arena. Sure, they were collecting “loser points” and hovering around the crowded playoff picture, but they were also down two defensemen and looked like a team without answers to their issues.
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It was either going to be rock bottom or keep getting worse. It ended up serving as a turning point. They went from a good and bad team to one playing with composure and confidence regardless of the circumstances.
What’s transpired over the last four games is not guaranteed to last, but it should buy the team some of your patience, even if you haven’t bought into this fabulously flawed team that could be better than you thought.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders had the day off on Thursday ahead of tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins at UBS Arena. The Isles are 0-4-1 in their last five games against Boston and have been outscored 24-11. The Bruins could be without center Pavel Zacha for a second consecutive game and star defenseman Charlie McAvoy for a third straight contest due to upper-body injuries. David Pastrnak has been held without a point in three of the last four games. “Pasta” has two goals with six assists in his previous five games versus the Isles.
Is Zach Coming Back?
The Islanders have points in 13 of their last 14 games and sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division. This recent stretch has increased their odds of a playoff spot come April. As the likelihood of the Islanders being a playoff team grows, so do the chances of Zach Parise returning with a realistic possibility of chasing the Stanley Cup that has eluded him throughout his career.
SportNet's Elliotte Friedman mentioned Parise in his most recent 32 Thoughts column, making it sound more likely that the 39-year-old is ramping up for a return to Long Island. "Not sure yet what it means for an NHL return, but Zach Parise’s been skating pretty hard in Minnesota. I assume, when ready, it will be the Islanders," Friedman wrote.
Parise scored 21 goals in his 18th NHL season, and GM Lou Lamoriello told him that the door would remain open for a return to Long Island. The team went out and signed Julien Gauthier, who has been getting time on the third line in recent weeks, and Simon Holmstrom has asserted himself as a vital part of the team moving forward.
If Parise does return, it would be at someone's expense, though more forward depth would be a good problem for Lane Lambert and his staff.
ON THE DEFENSE
In Newsday, Andrew Gross put a spotlight on Mathew Barzal’s defense at a time when he’s enjoying his best offensive season since his Calder Trophy-winning rookie year. Barzal scored his 10th goal of the season to tie the game on the power-play, but it was his blocked shot that kept the game tied that is what he wanted to talk about after the game.
“Yeah, it’s nice,” Barzal said. “We’ve had some success putting the puck in the back in the net, and the boys enjoy that. But there’s nothing like a good block from a guy — myself — who’s maybe not known for that a ton. The boys loved it, and that gives me the energy to want to do it again.”
“I’m trying to evolve my game, whether that’s being better on the forecheck or having a good stick for takeaways. It was a critical moment in the game, and I needed to make a play.”
Gross added a great stat at the bottom of the article that captured Barzal’s improved defensive play. Per NaturalStatTrick.com, Barzal’s expected goals against of 22.04 is on pace to be the lowest of his seven-season career. Last season, it was 34.2. It was 50.76 in 2021-22.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders finish their six-game homestand tonight against the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Bruins. Face-off is set for 7:30 PM EST.
📊 STANDINGS:
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, the Isles are one point ahead of last season's pace (14-7-7 vs. 17-11-0). It was the Isles' 10th one-goal win in 18 one-goal games (10-1-7); they lead the NHL in both categories.
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On Dec. 15th, 1992, the Islanders defeated St. Louis 4-3 in overtime on a neutral site at Reunion Arena in Dallas. Pierre Turgeon set up the game-winner, carrying the puck up the right side, then sliding a pass across the crease to Derek King, who beat St. Louis goalie Curtis Joseph for his 18th goal of the season. "I thought the fans were enthusiastic, even though they weren't cheering for us," King said. "Dallas seems like a nice city. I thought the people did a pretty good job supporting the game."
The game drew a crowd of 11,251 and was the first NHL regular-season game hosted in Texas and one of a series of neutral-site games played by the NHL that season. Of course, the Minnesota North Stars relocated to Dallas one year later, but the first win belonged to King and the Isles.
🎧 The Double Chili Islanders Podcast: MSG Analyst Thomas Hickey “Former Islanders defenseman and current MSG Networks Isles analyst/studio host Thomas Hickey joins Peter on the Double Chili Islanders podcast to talk about the current team, "The Park at UBS Arena" currently under construction and Thomas' transition from playing to broadcasting.”
🔗 It’s hard to make a case against the New York Islanders right now by Scott Maxwell, The Daily Faceoff “After a 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks, the New York Islanders find themselves on a four-game winning streak and have points in 13 of their last 14 games. It’s secured themselves second in the Metropolitan Division at the moment, and they’re starting to build a little bit of a cushion as the rest of the division struggles to be consistent.”
🔗 Islanders Penalty Killers, Holmstrom & Pageau, Giving Opponents Fits by Stefen Rosner, The Hockey News “With four goals and an assist while shorthanded, Holmstrom is the NHL’s top scorer when down a man, beating out forwards like Pavel Buchnevich, Andrew Cogliano, and Travis Konecny.”
And we leave you with this…on Dec. 6, our friends at HNINY attended the 16th Annual Companions in Courage Santa Connection. The event was dreamt to life by Islanders legend Pat LaFontaine, who wanted children in hospitals to have access to the same holiday festivities as everyone else. Watch and learn more about it 🎅🏻
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