Good Morning, Islanders Country.
It was a typical Islanders game until an atypical third period, and that was a welcomed change for the New York Islanders in their 5-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes last night.
Bo Horvat and Mike Reilly scored in the first period, and the Isles had a 2-0 lead after one - a familiar position. The Isles have now outscored the opposition 34-21 in the first period this season, and the 21 goals allowed are tied with the Boston Bruins and Los Angeles Kings for the fewest in the NHL.
In the second period, Arizona scored a power-play goal at the end of a 5-on-3 power play and controlled most of the period, outshooting the Isles 13-6. Things felt set up for another blown multi-goal lead and another tight game to be decided in the third period or overtime.
However, on this night, the Islanders’ final 20 minutes were their best. Anders Lee and Julien Gauthier scored 53 seconds apart as the Isles allowed just four third-period shots and scored three third-period goals, capped off by Horvat’s second of the game, turning a close game into a convincing road win.
“I think we kind of learned from our mistakes and played really well in the third period, something that we've haven't done in the past. Tonight, I thought we did a great job with that.” - Bo Horvat
The Isles didn’t play a full 60 minutes but played a really good first 20 and a great final 20 for an important two points and some momentum heading into their match-up with the defending Stanley Cup champions on Saturday night.
Let’s dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: Bo Horvat had two goals and an assist for the New York Islanders in a 5-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Mullett Arena on Thursday. Anders Lee and Julien Gauthier scored 53 seconds apart in a three-goal third period for the Islanders (18-10-10), who had lost two straight and three of four (1-2-1). Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves, and Mathew Barzal and Noah Dobson each had two assists. Nick Schmaltz scored, and Connor Ingram made 26 saves for the Coyotes (19-16-2), who lost their second straight after winning six of seven. [NHL.com}
KEY MOMENT(s):
🔷 Anders Lee scored his 11th of the season from the slot to make 3-1 at 4:29 of the third after Arizona defenseman Juuso Valimaki’s up-ice pass was deflected by Mathew Barzal. 10 of Lee’s 11 goals have come in the last 24 games.
🔶 53 seconds later, Julien Gauthier’s end-to-end rush pushed it to 4-1 at 5:22. After Lee scored, it marked the 32nd time the Isles had a two-goal lead. Gauthier’s tally was the seventh time they scored the next goal.
3 REACTIONS
❶ NEEDED A BOUNCE BACK: “Obviously the last game in Colorado was not my best, not my line's best and we needed a bounce back and I thought we did that,” Mathew Barzal said.
❷ CAME OUT STRONG: “We were talking in the [third] period how we need to come out strong and if we play well in our own zone we'll get an opportunity offensively,” said Julien Gauthier. “That’s what we had tonight; the third period was great for us.”
❸ SKATING DETERMINED: “I thought that both Bo and Barzy were skating determined,” Lane Lambert said. “Just very solid, steady play away from the puck both of them and as a result. They had some opportunities and created some chances and got some numbers.”
GAME IMPACT SCORE
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⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders’ road trip continues on Saturday night when they visit the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights.
The face-off is at 10:00 PM EST.
📊 STANDINGS:
📰 NEWS: Islanders forward Mathew Barzal is headed back to the All-Star Game after the league revealed the names of the 32 players (one per franchise) that will represent their team at the game in Toronto on Saturday, Feb. 3. This year marks the return of the All-Star Player Draft on Thursday, Feb 1, and a revamped Skills Competition set for Friday, Feb 2. that will feature only 12 All-Stars.
It will be the third All-Star appearance for Barzal, who is having his best season since his rookie campaign, totaling 39 points (10 goals, 29 assists) through 37 games, leading the Islanders. He's currently on pace for 84 points, which would put him one short of his 85 during his Calder Trophy-winning season in 2017-18.
#NHLALLSTARFANVOTE
While Barzal is deserving, there’s a strong argument that Noah Dobson has been the team’s most valuable player throughout the first half of the season.
The No. 12 pick in the 2018 NHL, who turns 24 on Jan. 7, has matured and blossomed into a star this season. Dobson leads the team in assists and, perhaps more impressively, has turned into a workhorse with the blue line missing defenseman Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock for an extended period.
Dobson, who has been quarterbacking the team's much-improved power play, entered Thursday night’s game in Arizona averaging 25:51 TOI, second in the league only to the Los Angeles King's Drew Doughty and has surpassed the 25-minute mark in 20 straight games, which is a franchise record.
All All-Star hope isn't lost for Dobson yet.
There are still 12 spots open (eight skaters and four goalies) via the 2024 NHL All-Star Fan Vote. You can vote for Dobson and other Islanders at NHL.com/vote or via X (formerly Twitter) and the NHL App through Jan. 11.
For those who choose to support Dobson via "X," there are three ways to do it. Use #NHLALLSTARVOTE and then add one of the following: 1) the player's name, 2) the player's name as a hashtag, or 3) tag a player's handle on the app.
UBS West
This is the second time the Islanders have played at Arizona State’s Mullett Arena; this time, Isles Nation showed up in full force. The orange and blue were loud early and often in the college setting that holds just 4,600 and partied like they were on a college campus. Well done by everyone who made the trip!
Post-Game Pizza
In the New York Post, Ethan Sears writes about how the Islanders and players around the league fill up with post-game pizza in the aftermath of playing a professional hockey game on the road. It may be simple, and it may be redundant, but there are no complaints from the players about the choice of cuisine.
“I mean, I love it,” Ander Lee told The Post. “You don’t really have a full meal since lunch. So you have a snack in the afternoon, you got what you need. But all of a sudden, it’s 10 o’clock and you haven’t had a full meal since noon. So it might be another hour before we get to the plane to have a meal.”
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Mathew Barzal recorded his 400th point on the same night he was named to his third NHL All-Star Game. Only six Islanders reached 400 points in fewer than 457 games. (Bossy, Trottier, Potvin, LaFontaine, Tavares, and Brent Sutter); John Tonelli also did it in game 457. Noah Dobson is now 6-32-38 and +19 on the season. It is the fourth time that he has gone +3 or better. Denis Potvin (six times) is the only other defender in club history with 38 points through 38 games.
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On Jan. 5, 2019, Anders Lee capped a three-goal third period, and Matt Martin also scored to help the Islanders win their season-high sixth in a row and ninth in 10 games in a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues. Robin Lehner stopped 29 shots for his seventh consecutive win.
Johnny Boychuk’s goal at 8:38 of the third gave the Isles their first lead just 11 seconds after Jordan Eberle had tied the score.
"Johnny's not the prettiest guy to watch," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "But when the game's on the line, he's the guy that makes the hard plays. Johnny never makes soft plays. Everything he does is full out.
🎧 Talkin’ Isles: Dave Scatchard “Former Islanders forward Dave Scatchard joins Greg and Cory on Ep.55 of the podcast. He talks about his junior days with the Portland Winterhawks (1:35), being drafted by the Vancouver Canucks 42nd overall in 1994 (6:54), getting traded to the Islanders (21:15), the special team bond in 2001-02 (30:49), the 2002 playoff series against Toronto (36:28) and more!”
🔗 Islanders Palmieri Talks Health, Second Line Insights by Stefen Rosner, The Hockey News “Being in the lineup and being healthy is key. It's the only way to be a part of your team and contribute and make an impact," Palmieri told The Hockey News. "So you take it day by day. Some things are a little out of your control, especially with injuries like the one here last time.”
🔗 With John Collins on board, the Islanders could be in line to host major NHL events by Peter Schwartz, Greater Long Island “With plans in place for a new Belmont Park racetrack, conversations with the New York Racing Association and the NHL are already underway that could bring the marquee New Year’s Day event to Long Island.”
And we leave you with this ….the YES Network and MSG Networks launch a jointly owned venture called Gotham Advanced Media and Entertainment, marking the first step toward streaming games that both networks carry in a combined service.
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