Last night on Hockey Night in New York, the Isles returned from their Western Canada trip with a 1-1-2 record and more questions than answers.
Sean and Stefen dove into those questions covering the defense, PK, blowing leads, Lambert's status with the team, and plenty more! Kevin Kurz also joined to preview the Flyers with two games coming up against them this week.
Good Morning, Islanders Country.
I wasn’t able to watch the game on Saturday night.
Ironically, I was sitting under the retired numbers at UBS Arena for a 7:00 PM start of Disney on Ice with my wife and two girls. Fans may complain about beer prices, but talk to me when you’ve spent $42 on an Encanto bubble wand!
As Moana and Maui took the ice, I checked the score a saw a 3-1 lead, but by the time Mickey and Minnie sent everyone home, the Isles were tied in the third, having been outsscored 13-2 in the final 20 minutes of the previous seven games.
Unlike the films that inspired the show, there was no guarantee of a happy ending for the Islanders. We’d seen this infuriating movie before. We had a strong feeling about how it would end when Calgary tied the game again at 4-4, and we definitely knew the ending when the game went to OT and then a shootout.
Only this time, as I pulled into my garage, the Islanders had flipped the script.
Rather than coming home on an eight-game losing streak and questions about Lane Lambert’s job status at an all-time high, Oliver Wahlstrom’s shootout winner sent them back to Long Island having gone .500 (1-1-2) on the road trip and with points in three straight.
“It feels really good. All the guys are happy to go home with two points. We've been battling, and we've been in all of our games, so it feels good to get two points.” - Oliver Wahlstrom
With the team off today and not playing until Wednesday, it’ll take another 24 hours to confirm that Lambert is safe behind the bench. How much that hinged on Saturday’s outcome, we may never know.
The Islanders aren’t playing their best, far from it, but they felt they deserved better than they earned in the last seven games. Now they have an opportunity to put their presumably worst hockey behind them and start playing some of their best to make up the early ground they’ve lost this season.
Coming up, Lane Lambert focuses on his job, and Hudson Fasching focuses on his latest opportunity. Plus, Cal Clutterbuck celebrates a birthday before he celebrates 1,000 games, UBS Arena opens up, and the Devils stage a skit at the Isles’ expense.
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