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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Last night was a game where so much good was happening that you were waiting for something bad to happen, only it didn’t. The Isles dominated the Arizona Coyotes through two periods, outshooting them 24-7, but held only a 1-0 lead.
They had to withstand a mild flurry in a quick-paced third period but, overall, were rock solid throughout the lineup, allowing just 14 shots - the first time they’ve held an opponent to under 15 shots since Feb. 8, 2015, vs. Buffalo. They were also dominant in the face-off circle, winning 66% of draws that led to a decisive edge in zone time. A power-play goal, clutch penalty-killing, and a disciplined defensive game. It all added up to winning hockey and a 2-0-0 start to the season.
Oh, and Ilya Sorokin earned his first shutout of the season and 17th of his career. There were so many nights last season where he had to bail out his teammates; that wasn’t the case last night. Sorokin now recorded a shutout in a remarkable 12.9% of the games he started. That earns you a big hug from Matt Martin on his milestone night.
Coming up, the Isles are off to their best start in nine seasons, and Matt Martin makes a young fan’s day. Plus, Samuel Bolduc steps in for Scott Mayfield, the radio team will be remote workers and Mathew Barzal’s chat on NHL Network.
Let’s dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: Ilya Sorokin made 14 saves, and Mathew Barzal scored a power-play goal as the New York Islanders blanked the Arizona Coyotes 1-0 at UBS Arena on Tuesday night in Elmont, NY. The shutout was the 17th in Sorokin’s career, the third most in franchise history. With the win, the Isles are 2-0-0 to start a season for the first time since 2014-15 (4-0-0). Karel Vejmelka made 30 saves for Arizona (1-2-0), and Sorokin had 14 saves. [NHL.com BOX]
KEY MOMENT(s):
🔷 Mathew Barzal said he sort of fanned on this shot, but it was accurate and effective and resulted in the Islanders’ first power-play goal of the season.
🔶 Matt Martin skated in his 900th career game and, on the way off the ice, headed a stick to a young girl holding a sign asking for one. An awesome gesture and an even better reaction.
3 REACTIONS
❶ GREAT STRUCTURE: “I thought we battled. I thought our structure was great,” Head Coach Lane Lambert said. “They had a couple of opportunities, but when they did our goaltender came up big for us, but I think of the total team effort.”
❷ EARLY ONES: “It was nice to get a couple ones at home here,” Mathew Barzal said. “In the past we dropped a few early on and it kind of kills the mood a little bit, so it's nice to get two early ones.”
❸ REWARDED: “It's nice to get rewarded,” said Noah Dobson, who fed Barzal for the one-timer. “We've definitely had our chances, so I think it'll bode well for us going forward to get that one off our backs and continue to build on it.”
GAME IMPACT SCORE
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders’ opening homestand continues on Friday night when they take on Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton, and the New Jersey Devils. Face-off from UBS Arena is at 7:30 PM EDT.
📊 STANDINGS:
📰 NEWS: Defenseman Scott Mayfield missed Tuesday night's game after taking a shot off his skate in Saturday’s 3-2 win against Buffalo. Mayfield played in all 82 games last season. In his absence, Samuel Bolduc made his season debut after playing 17 games in his rookie year, recording three points (2G, 1A) and two playoff games.
"There were a lot of important moments for him last year," head coach Lambert said about Bolduc. "As a young player, you get your feet wet, so to speak, and then you continue to learn from there, and each time that happens, the expectation is that you come out stronger."
Bolduc played just 9:19 but played relatively well in his first action of the season. “I saw him move pucks, I saw him get pucks to the net from the top [of the zone],” Lambert said. “And I thought he made some good outlet passes.”
◾️ For Newsday, Andrew Gross caught up with forward Kyle Palmieri and revisited his previous game against Arizona, when he was re-injured in his first game back, causing him to miss 27 of 28 games. Palmieri talked about the frustrating experience and
“Sometimes injuries are out of your control,” Palmieri said. “You want to be healthy and be out there with your teammates. There was a large chunk of the season last year that I wasn’t able to do it.”
“It’s a hard game, and this is a great locker room and a great team to be part of. Anytime you get that taken away from you for a little bit, it’s tough.”
◾️ Per a report from Neil Best in Newsday, the Islanders s have made an "organizational decision" that will result in play-by-play man Chris King and analyst Greg Picker only traveling to local road games against the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, and Philadelphia Flyers. For all other games, starting Saturday in Buffalo, they'll be calling the game remotely.
The difficulty of calling the game off of a monitor [is that] you are limited to what the [television] director shows you, as opposed to being at the event, said King back in a 2021 interview with Barrett Sports Media. “In hockey, things happen away from the puck all the time, and I need to look there to see what plays are being set up, especially late in close games.”
Some will undoubtedly look at this as a minor league move by the franchise, but the Islanders aren't the first and won't be the last to use this growing trend as a way to keep operating expenses in check, but it's unfortunate that it comes at the expense of the game experience for the broadcast team.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per NHL PR, Ilya Sorokin recorded his 17th career shutout and surpassed Rick DiPietro (16) for sole possession of third on the Islanders all-time list. He trails only Glenn Resch (25) and Billy Smith (22). Sorokin has played in five career games against Arizona and shut them out three times.
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On October 18, 2010, John Tavares scored a power-play goal at 3:26 of overtime to lift the New York Islanders past the Maple Leafs 2-1 in Toronto. "I just put my head down and tried to shoot it as hard as I could," Tavares said. "I wasn't even sure it went in ... It was a great feeling."
Matt Moulson scored at 2:17 of the second period for a 1-0 lead. Dwayne Roloson made 29 saves. The win moved the Isles to 3-1-2 in the early season, but after winning their next game, they would go 14 straight without a win.
🔗 Islanders' radio announcers won't travel to most road games this season by Neil Best, Newsday “The Islanders’ radio announcers will not travel to most road games this season, the team confirmed to Newsday on Tuesday. Announcers Chris King and Greg Picker will travel to nearby games against the Rangers, Devils and Flyers, but mostly will call games remotely, starting with Saturday night’s game in Buffalo.”
🔗 NY Islanders prospect Cameron Berg off to strong start after transfer to North Dakota by Michael Stahurski, Eyes on Isles “With two games under his belt now with the Fighting Hawks, Berg hopes to take his game to the next level and catch the eye of the Islanders, playing for what is currently the number-five team in the nation.”
And we leave you with this ….Mathew Barzal sat down with Mike Rupp and Thomas Hickey to talk about playing guitar, fantasy football, his ARP workouts, and a lot more - including the loudest he ever heard the Nassau Coliseum.
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There is no way around it, keeping the radio team at home is completely minor league. If you don't want to go out to Western Canada or California for an extended road trip, fine. But limiting their trips to just three cities is completely absurd.