Good Morning, Islanders Country.
‘Tis the season. This morning, we flip the calendar to December, and if you have young kids, you might have one of those advent calendars, the traditional chocolate countdown that yields 24 treats each and every day. Ours will be opened (and eaten) before you read this.
But the Isles will be a tad sad to see last month go, even if it ended on a sour note in Philadelphia on Tuesday night. The Isles went 10-5-0 in November. Pretty good, right? But historically, it was one of the most productive Novembers in franchise history! In fact, it was only the fourth time the team won 10 games in November.
The others:
12-1-2 in November 1980
11-3-0 in November 2014
10-2-1 in November 1983
10-5-0 in November 2022
There’s been much more good than bad this season, but there have been performances like Tuesday night, the 2-0 shutout loss to the Coyotes, and the no-show in Detroit that leave you wanting more. And maybe that’s a good thing. It’s a sign that you think this team can still improve and perhaps make this month even better than the last.
Coming up, as the Isles forward depth is being tested, Simon Holmstrom is moved back to Bridgeport while Aatu Räty is held out. Meanwhile, William Dufour shows off his shot. Plus, you can now own Ilya Sorokin (in card form); Barzal has room for improvement, a triumphant return to the Coli, and an Uncle Leo session.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: Defenseman Robin Salo was loaned to the AHL Bridgeport Islanders (again) on Wednesday as the team continues to try to find the former second-round pick ice time. He has been a healthy scratch for 20 straight games as Sebastian Aho has asserted himself as an NHL regular this season.
◾️ Not in the lineup last night for Bridgeport in last night’s 4-3 win over Providence was Islanders’ top forward prospect Aatu Räty. In 18 games, Räty has four goals and four assists in his first full AHL season.
It remains to be seen why the 20-year-old Räty was scratched, but with three Islanders banged up (Josh Bailey, Cal Clutterbuck, and Kyle Palmieri), Could we see another Isles debut this week? Maybe. We’ll see. Räty is a center, and the Islanders will likely want to play him there, so a call-up would likely mean a temporary move to the wing for Mathew Barzal or Brock Nelson.
◾️ Then, late last night, another transaction, as Simon Holmstrom was returned to Bridgeport after playing the last four games. We’ll learn whether it was a ‘paper move’ or there is, in fact, a corresponding addition to the roster.
◾️ No practice on Wednesday meant no status update on the three injured regulars from Lane Lambert. The Islanders, who have been carrying just one extra forward as of late, could have their forward depth tested on Friday.
When we have the chance to show you a William Dufour goal, we’re going to do it. Last night, in the first against Providence, Dufour shot a missile of a one-timer for a power-play goal. The aforementioned Salo earned a secondary assist.
⚔️ PERFORMER OF THE KNIGHT: Islanders prospect Isaiah George is looking happy and healthy playing for the OHL London Knights, recording his first multi-point game of the season on Tues and was named OHL Performer of the Night.
⏭ NEXT UP: After another off-day, the Islanders are back on home ice on Friday night versus the Nashville Predators at UBS Arena. Faceoff is 7:30 PM
📊 STANDINGS:
🂡 TOPPS PERFORMER: Goaltender Ilya Sorokin’s 49-save shutout against the Edmonton Oilers on November 23rd has made its way to the 2022-23 NHL TOPPS NOW® collection. The special Sorokin card is only available for a limited time, and with the holiday’s around the corner, you can make your purchase here.
🤷🏻♂️ NOBODY’S PERFECT: Through the quarter mark of the 2022-23 season, the Islanders’ Mathew Barzal has put together quite the strong season. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz watches him on a nightly and can vouch for the 25-year-old center, who is second in the NHL in assists behind only the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov.
It took him some time to find the back of the net this season, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort, as Barzal is also shooting the puck more than ever this season and has caught some unlucky breaks with posts or hot goaltenders.
However, according to Kurz, there is one area that he can improve on …faceoffs.
If there’s one area of Barzal’s game that could be better, though, it’s faceoffs. After steadily improving his win percentage in the circle over the past three seasons, he has regressed this season.
Heading into Tuesday night, Barzal’s 33.1 winning percentage was the second worst in the league among the 136 players who had taken at least 100 draws.
Barzal is the Isles No.1 center and leads all forwards in time on ice at 18:42 per game. Yet, Barzal is 133rd overall in the NHL in faceoff win percentage at 33.6%.
In terms of collecting points, Barzal has begun to prove why he will be paid like one of the league’s best centers next season when his $9.15 million cap hit kicks in. Still, he’ll need to do a lot better in the faceoff dot with how often he’s on the ice, something Barzal recognized in Kurz’s story. Read it HERE [subscription]
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, the Isles fell to 10-2-0 when scoring first this season and are now 6-2-0 in divisional games this season. The Isles were outshot for the 16th time this season; but have 10 wins on the season when that happens, the most in the NHL.
🗓 THIS DATE IN ISLANDERS HISTORY: On December 1, 2018, the Islanders made a raucous return to a refurbished Nassau Coliseum for their first regular season game there in 1,316 days and defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2. Anders Lee and Anthony Beauvillier scored in the second period to tie the score, and Casey Cizikas scored the go-ahead goal playing 4-on-4 in the third.
"It's incredible, I got goosebumps going down my body right now," Cizikas said. "It was an emotional game today. From the goaltender out, I thought we played one of our best games of the year. We were physical, we were fast, making smart plays. We had the crowd behind us all night."
🎧 Nassaumen Hockey Podcast: Are we expecting too much from the New York Islanders this season? James and Jon break down the last week in New York Islanders hockey, including their most recent loss against the Philadelphia Flyers. But it's not all bad news... is it? Even though the Islanders had their four-game win streak snapped, there are plenty of positives to discuss this season. Do they outweigh the mistakes? The guys dive in and ask - are we expecting too much from the New York Islanders this season?
🔗 Options Limited as Injuries Start to Pile Up for Islanders, by Stefen Rosner, NYIHockeyNow: “Rookie Simon Holmstrom was recalled on Nov. 23 for the game against the Edmonton Oilers and has played in every game since. He was not supposed to play Tuesday night, with Johnston coming in to add some grit, but the Bailey injury forced a change to that gameplan.”
🔗 Islanders Should Target 3 Sharks in Trades, by Mike Fink, The Hockey Writers: “A team they can look to is the San Jose Sharks, who are one of the worst teams in the NHL, with an 8-13-4 record. The Sharks will consider moving on from some of their veteran players to build a younger roster for the future. The Islanders have a handful of players they can target from the struggling team that could propel them to the Cup.”
And we leave you with this…after all these years, get to know Uncle Leo! On the latest Talkin’ Isles, the mostly loveable former Islander talks about his time on Long Island and a whole lot more.
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