Good Morning, Islanders Country.
The New York Islanders returned to the ice at Northwell Health after their brief trip to Nashville this past weekend. The team continues to gather points, doing so in five consecutive games since their slow start. Despite this run, head coach, Barry Trotz is still looking for more from his team (more on that below).
Plus, how Anders Lee pushed himself to the limits, Ken Appleby moved to a new neighborhood, Brendan Burke picks up hardware, a possible Isles trade target, and players’ comments on the evolving situation in Chicago. Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders were back on the ice, awaiting a trip to Montreal on Thursday. In his media availability following practice, Trotz reflected on where they stand and players spoke about the ongoing early season grind a little over halfway into their record 13-game road trip to start the season.
🗣 QUOTEBOOK
LACKING KILLER INSTINCT: “There are things in our game where we need to push an opponent out with those opportunities that we get. We did a lot of that today.” Barry Trotz on what’s missing from their game
TIGHTEN UP: “Some stuff offensively, a little bit more support on the puck. I think we can help ourselves, a little more zone time. We can be a little more dangerous in some areas. I think a couple of our protocols, we’re slipping a little bit.” Barry Trotz on areas of emphasis offensively
CHEMISTRY LESSON: “It's definitely been good to play with him, to get to know him. Our chemistry is getting better and better. He has a lot of talent. He's a great shooter.” J-G Pageau on playing with Oliver Wahlstrom
HALFWAY THERE: “I think we’ve been fortunate enough, obviously we’ve had a long trip to start the season, [but] we’ve come back now and had time at home. So although you don’t have the crowd behind you, you do get to be back in your own bed a couple times throughout this whole stand. It's tough, it's long. It is what it is. We're looking forward to the 20th for sure” - Anders Lee on the extended time on the road
OH, CANADA: “I think not only for the Canadian players, but I think for everyone. Just to be able to travel and to be able to go to different places. We’ve been places that we’ve never been in the last year. It’s just fun to be able to travel together and to go out and play.” - Ottawa’s J.G. Pageau on getting to play in Canada once again
👨✈️ CAPTAIN MARVEL: Remember those videos from the playoffs of Anders Lee skating in practice and firing up the boys and all of the social media with his pre-game smacking of doors? Well, it turns out if the Islanders reached the Stanley Cup Final, Trotz wasn’t ruling out his captain finding a way onto the ice.
READ MORE: In a fantastic piece in The Athletic, Arthur Staple details Lee’s recovery and journey back to the ice and how he maybe - just maybe, could have made an appearance against all odds. “He might’ve broken down my door to tell me he was going,” Trotz said. “I don’t know how we would have done it three months out from ACL surgery, but I imagine it would have been like Steven Stamkos (who played one shift in the 2020 Stanley Cup Final). There’s a fire there and it’s burning. It was burning all through the playoffs and it’s still going.”
🔃 RE-ASSIGNED: The Islanders have reassigned Goaltender Ken Appleby to the Worcester Railers of the EHCL. Appleby had a 1.94 GAA and a sparkling 0.951 save % with Bridgeport this season. Appleby signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Isles on April 9, 2021, to add goaltending depth.
🎯 TRADE TARGET: Could reinforcements be coming on defense? With Zdeno Chara struggling, Lyle Richardson of The Hockey News/Sports Illustrated seems to think pending UFA Hampus Lindholm could be a big target for the Islanders at the trade deadline. Through October 30th, Chara is third-worst in average GameScore this season.
👩🏫 SOUND SMART: Speaking of Chara, the defenseman took two minor penalties on Saturday and now has 2,008 penalty minutes – one behind Harold Snepsts for 57th all-time. Who’s Harold Snepsts you ask? He was the player whose pass was intercepted by Mike Bossy for the overtime winner in the 1982 Final. (h/t @ehornick)
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: Though Thomas Greiss may have been forgotten by some when Ilya Sorokin arrived in North America, he was one of the most consistent Islanders’ players in the last decade. Alongside three other goalies during his time on Long Island, he helped bring the Islanders to consistent playoff births and deep post-season runs. He also gave us the best poke-check since Wade Dubielewicz.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders continue their limited play schedule this week, gearing up for a Thursday tilt with the Montreal Canadiens.
📊 STANDINGS:
🎙 BEST IN THE BIZ: The voice of the Islanders on MSG, Brendan Burke, won the New York Sports Emmy for Talent: Sports Play-By-Play for his work during the 2019-20 season. Islanders fans increasingly have to share Brendan’s brilliance with a national television audience. More accolades are sure to follow.
📰 EVOLVING STORY: The NHL, NHLPA, and the Chicago Blackhawks remain an important conversation throughout the hockey world, and Islanders’ players took part in a call after practice on Monday to seek some answers.
🔗 Could the New York Islanders Pursue Hampus Lindholm? by Lyle Richardson, SI / The Hockey News: “The New York Islanders shipped Nick Leddy to the Detroit Red Wings in July rather than risk losing him for nothing in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft. They signed Zdeno Chara as a replacement but general manager Lou Lamoriello could have his eye on Anaheim Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm later in the season.”
🔗How Islanders captain Anders Lee pushed limits and inspired others during his ACL recovery, by Arthur Staple, The Athletic: “While his team gathered itself, so did Lee. He was on the ice barely a month out from his surgery, already pushing at the outer limits of what his new ligament could do. There were dual purposes behind that: Lee wanted to get at the leading edge of his rehab schedule to ensure he’d be ready for the 2021-22 season, and his hard work, done mostly in the Isles training center gym or on their ice, was a tone-setter for his teammates as they embarked on the postseason.”
🔗 Islanders looking forward to playing in Canada again, by Andrew Gross, Newsday: “Before COVID-19, of course, heading north of the border to play in their home country was a taken-for-granted occurrence for Canadian-born players on U.S.-based teams. But last season’s pandemic-altered schedule limited travel to within four, makeshift divisions, with all seven Canadian teams comprising one of the divisions.”
🔗 Bridgeport Islanders Week 3 Recap, by Noel Fogelman, Lighthouse Hockey: “This is a critical season for the [Simon] Holmstrom. So far, he’s been up to the challenge. He has five points in his first eight games of the season. Compare that to the COVID-shortened 2020-21, where he had seven points in the 24 games. His confidence seems to be growing when he has possession of the puck. He‘s been winning puck battles and not getting forced off the puck. People tend to forget he’s just 20 years old.”
🎧 Islanders Forecheck, with Chris Botta: “Chris Botta opens the show with some perspective on the wild shenanigans of ownership in 1999 and then Chris and Pat Boyle discuss, The All-Time Islanders Underrated Team, starting with defensemen.”
And we leave you with this…tomorrow we will select at random, one lucky subscriber who will win a signed and numbered print from artist Sean Connors.
You’ve probably seen this MSG commercial featuring Sean’s art or check out a Q&A we did with him a few years back. To qualify, subscribe before 5 pm Tuesday!
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