NOW AVAILABLE! New York Islanders: A to Z will introduce a new generation of fans to the legendary players, magical moments, and colorful history of LI’s hockey franchise.
Contributions from Brendan Burke, Stan Fischler, Chris King, and Jiggs McDonald.
You can purchase it HERE
A portion of the proceeds will go to the Islanders Children’s Foundation.
Good Morning, Islanders Country.
The day of endlessly checking your phone and refreshing social media is upon us, but you’ve already been doing that for at least a week, if not longer, during one of the most eventful trade deadline SZNs in NHL history. What’s the TSN TradeCentre going to talk about all afternoon?
Probably not the Islanders, but that was never going to be the case, anyway.
The Isles might be trying to do more, but if they’re done, they’re done after management decisively told their players and fanbase that they’re here to win, they’re here to make the playoffs, and they are not ready to entertain a rebuild of any kind - not that many of you were ready to accept that anyway.
Lou Lamoriello, as almost all GMs are, has been the focus of criticism, but it’s hard to say he didn’t answer the bell over the last month. He traded for and then extending Bo Horvat, one of the most coveted targets, and then acquired Pierre Engvall, an upside depth forward that has sticking potential on this roster due to his versatility that was on display at his practice on Thursday.
A month ago, fans were talking about tearing it all down. Two weeks ago, they were talking about selling off whatever assets they had left. But today, on deadline day, the Islanders are in a playoff spot and have fortified their roster to give themselves a chance at making the tournament, and a chance, however unlikely it may seem, to make some noise. Even if you’ve thought they should trade Semyon Varlamov at some point over the last month or year, you had to admit; it’s more fun and exciting being in the playoff mix.
Now let’s see if anyone gets an extension!
Coming up, Pierre Engvall gets acclimated, and Mathew Barzal appears without a limp at practice. Plus, Bridgeport has a big night, prospect Tristan Lennox has an even bigger night, and Mike Bossy has No. 22 sent to the rafters.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: Newly acquired Pierre Engvall took the ice with his new teammates for the first time on Thursday, skating with Bo Horvat and Anders Lee. The former Maple Leaf has played the role of a responsible defensive forward for Toronto, but he can make things tough on defenders because of his speed.
He’ll get an opportunity with the Islanders to show off more of his offensive skillset playing on the top line that is missing Mathew Barzal. “They’re two great players,” Engvall said. “I’m really happy I get to play with them at the start… I see myself as a two-way player, but my skating is my biggest asset. I’m really happy to get the chance with those guys.”
Matt Martin played admirably with Lee and Horvat - even getting him onto a fantasy waiver wire list! But that was never going to stick long-term. Simon Holmstrom got his shot too, but his offensive game hasn’t taken the next stride, even when surrounded by talented linemates. Engvall’s skating ability sets him apart from others that have tried to take Barzal’s spot, and he possesses a skillset that his new linemates are eager to have on their side.
"It's nice not being the newest guy," Bo Horvat joked. "He's going to fit in great here. I'm looking forward to getting to know him better."
"He's always tough to play against throughout the years here and works extremely hard," Anders Lee said of Engvall when he was on the Maple Leafs. "He's very versatile and can play up and down the lineup. He's just one of those guys who is going you give you his best every night."
👀 BARZY WATCH: There was a Barzal sighting at practice! The Isles playmaker was without crutches, without a boot, and without a noticeable limp, per reports.
The Islanders a 3-1-1 without Barzal in the lineup, but they’re unquestionably a better, more dangerous team with the face-of-the-franchise skating alongside Bo Horvat.“He’s been [injured] two weeks Saturday now,” GM Lou Lamoriello said during Tuesday’s media availability. “We’ll see where he is after three weeks, but I have no timetable.”
◾️ The Islanders announced that Arnaud Durandeau was returned on loan to Bridgeport after an impressive few games for the former 2017 sixth-round pick that left you thinking that you haven’t seen the last of him at the NHL level.
As for Bridgeport on the ice, they had a convincing 7-1 win over the Providence Bruins at Total Mortgage Arena on Thursday. Ruslan Iskhakov led the way with one goal and two assists, and Andy Andreoff had two goals.
◾️ What a couple of days for New York Islanders goaltending prospect Tristan Lennox! A day after signing a three-year entry-level contract with the Islanders, the 20-year-old made an incredible 59 saves for the Saginaw Spirit in a 2-0 shutout win over the Peterborough Petes on Thursday night. The 59 saves is a new franchise record, besting the 54 saves by Ivan Prosvetov in 2019. 22 of the 59 saves came in the third period, preserving the shutout and the win.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders return to the ice on Saturday afternoon for the suddenly selling Detroit Red Wings. Face-off is set for 12:30 PM ET.
📊 STANDINGS: A mixed bag of scoreboard watching on Thursday as Pittsburgh now leads the Isles by one point with three games in hand after a 5-4 OT win in Tampa Bay for their fourth straight. The Ottawa Senators stayed hot with a 5-3 win over the Rangers, but the Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, and Detroit Red Wings (OT) all lost their games.
Originally, it was thought that Engvall would wear No. 47, the same number he wore with Toronto and last worn by fan (mostly) favorite Uncle Leo Komarov. But Engvall elected (or was told) to wear No. 18, which has belonged to three different Islanders in just about a month. Of course, Anthony Beauvillier is one, but the other is Andy Andrehoff, who wore it in the three games he’s played this season.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, the Islander defense has scored 35 goals, three more than they did last season and the most that they have scored since tallying 39 goals in 2017-18. The Isles are fourth in the NHL in defense goals and are second in the NHL in percent of goals scored by their defense (19.0%). They all count, even this EN from Adam Pelech vs. WPG.
🗓 ISLES REWIND: On March 3, 1992, the Islanders retired the No. 22 of the best pure goal scorer in hockey history, Mike Bossy. The winger played his 10-year NHL career on Long Island, where he recorded 1,126 points (573G, 553A) in 752 games. The eight-time NHL All-Star is the franchise leader in goals.
George Vecsey in the New York Times wrote,
“Mike Bossy was a wing the way Tom Seaver was a pitcher, the way Walt Frazier was a guard. He played for the finest New York team in the past quarter-century. It makes no sense at all to throw ticker-tape off the roof of a suburban ranch house, or the arches of a fast-food stand, but there are rafters at the Nassau Coliseum, and tonight Mike Bossy's No. 22 was retired, hoisted into the eaves, alongside the No. 5 of Denis Potvin that was retired a month ago.”
🔗 Pierre Engvall working with Islanders’ 1st line upon arrival by Joe Pantorno, amNewYork “ Pierre Engvall is going to be afforded more opportunities with his new team, the New York Islanders, compared to the offensively-loaded Toronto Maple Leafs. A bottom-six winger up North, the 26-year-old found himself practicing with the Islanders’ first line of Bo Horvat and Anders Lee during his first day with the team on Thursday.”
🔗 Islanders put Pierre Engvall's versatility to the test in first practice by Andrew Gross, Newsday “Pierre Engvall spent his first practice with the Islanders skating on top-line center Bo Horvat’s right wing along with Anders Lee. He took a quick turn on the first power-play unit, then another rotation as a net-front presence on the second unit. He also worked with the penalty-killers.”
And we leave you with this…the Islanders put out 50 Years by the Numbers, which is a really cool, artistic look at the Islanders over the last 50 years.
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