Good Morning Islanders Country,
It’s finally Friday, and that means we only have one more day until the New York Islanders return to in-game action. Despite a lack of games, it’s actually been a pretty busy week in terms of news revolving around the team.
There was no shortage of that yesterday, as practice resumed for Barry Trotz and co., and the team was made available to the media for some interviews.
With a few new developments from the team, let’s catch you up on the latest Isles news.
📰 NEWS: All but one Islander hit the ice yesterday. Zach Parise was the lone Islander that didn’t practice as the 37-year old is dealing with a minor ailment. Trotz elaborated on Parise’s status, explaining that his back "stiffened up a little bit," and added that it's nothing too serious.
💯 FEELING 100: According to The Athletic’s Arthur Staple, Semyon Varlamov told reporters that he’s feeling 100% healthy.
💪🏼 READY: “Ready to go. Ready to play a game. I didn't expect it was going to take so long to recover... Had some issues I had to address this summer... Everything is behind me and I'm feeling good and I'm ready to play.” Varlamov, now off injured reserve, on how he’s feeling.
🔒 DIALED IN: "He's been very solid for us... He played really good, very confident. I think he really dialed into his game and he looks really, really confident. Especially the last two games." Varlamov speaking on Ilya Sorokin through the first six games of the season.
🤫 MYSTERIOUS: "[Varlamov] could go in Nashville, he could go in Montreal, he could go next week." Trotz when asked about his starting goaltender for Saturday afternoon’s game.
👨✈️ CAPTAINS QUARTERS: Islanders captain, Anders Lee, explained that he’s feeling good since his return from his knee injury.
💨 RAMP IT UP: "I have a little more to think about, but all in all, I feel good and I look forward to ramping up a bit more." Lee on looking forward to consistent game action.
👊 BRAWLIN’ BARZY: It appears that Matt Martin was giving Mathew Barzal some lessons in practice yesterday on… fighting. We don’t anticipate Barzal utilizing this new skill set, but it’s not a bad idea to have it in his tool belt… right?
🙅♂️ NO DENYING IT: Despite being open about his dislike for the Islanders, former NHLer and Spittin’ Chiclet’s co-host Ryan Whitney admitted that he believes this is the year the Isles lift the Stanley Cup.
🔦 LIGHT IT UP: Yet another milestone in the completion of UBS Arena, last night was the first time the LED UBS Arena sign was lit.
👩🏫 SOUND SMART: Zdeno Chara played in his 1,614th game, leaving him one game behind Larry Murphy for 11th all-time, Chara is now 4th among defensemen in games played, and will tie Murphy assuming he dresses on Saturday:
• Chris Chelios 1,651
• Scott Stevens 1,635
• Larry Murphy 1,615
• Zdeno Chara 1,614
• Ray Bourque 1,612
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: On October 28th, 1974, the Islanders set a new franchise record for most goals scored in a game (10). The Islanders defeated the California Golden Seals 10-1 at the Nassau Coliseum. Their 6-1-1 record became the best start in team history at the time.
⏭ NEXT UP: It feels like we are counting down to Opening Night again, but only one more day until we can finally watch the Islanders play a hockey game. Make sure you are tuned in tomorrow, because they then have four more days off before playing in Montreal next Thursday.
📊 STANDINGS: Frederik Andersen made 33 saves for his first shutout with Carolina (6-0-0), which won its franchise-record sixth straight game to start the season as the Hurricanes defeated the Boston Bruins 3-0. The Flyers won their second road game in as many days with a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. James van Riemsdyk scored, Claude Giroux had two assists, and Martin Jones made 27 saves for the Philadelphia Flyers (4-1-1). The Calgary Flames remained red-hot, sweeping a five-game road trip with a 4-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.
🔗 Islanders Weekly: Sorokin Leads The Turnaround, by Jon Zella, The Hockey Writers: “It’s tough to start with anyone other than Sorokin. He’s been as consistent a goaltender as there is in the NHL and has truly been the backbone of the Islanders to start the season.”
🔗 ISLES WILL EXPLORE DEFENSIVE OPTIONS LATER IN SEASON, by The Fourth Period, The Fourth Period: “With just over $2.26 million in salary cap overage space to play with due to Johnny Boychuk and his $6 million cap hit sitting on LTIR, the Islanders are expected to explore the defensive market closer to the March 21 trade deadline.”
🔗 Semyon Varlamov: ‘I Feel Like I’m 100 Percent and I Can Play This week’, by Christian Arnold, NYIHockeyNow: “The New York Islanders have been secretive about what had kept Varlamov out for so long. The goaltender directed the question to head coach Barry Trotz and Trotz just wouldn’t say what it was. Varlamov did concede that it had been related to an injury he had been dealing with in the spring.”
🔗 Islanders’ Anders Lee, Barry Trotz comment on Kyle Beach, Blackhawks, by Joe Pantorno, amNewYork: “My heart goes out to Kyle and his family and commend him greatly for speaking up about this,” Lee said after Islanders practice on Thursday afternoon. “No one should have to go through a situation like that… You don’t ever want to see that kind of situation evolve into what happened.”
And we leave you with this… for our last Newsletter before Halloween, the Fisherman Jersey may never return as a third jersey, but it can still make for a fantastic costume!
Picture courtesy of @WillStevensNYC on Twitter
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