NOW AVAILABLE! New York Islanders: A to Z will introduce a new generation of fans to the legendary players, magical moments, and colorful 50-year history of the Islanders.
Contributions from Brendan Burke, Stan Fischler, Chris King, and Jiggs McDonald.
You can purchase it HERE
A portion of the proceeds goes to the Islanders Children’s Foundation.
Good Morning, Islanders Country.
On Wednesday, Islanders fans, especially those of a certain generation, were wishing each other “Happy Anniversary!” as it was on May 24th, 1980, at 7:11 of overtime, that Tonelli to Nystrom happened.
Among the spectators that night, watching the game through a lens, unable to bite his nails while holding a camera, was Bruce Bennett, the now legendary Getty photographer. Back in 2015, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bennett about his fantastic picture book published with The Hockey News, entitled Hockey’s Greatest Photos.
You can listen to the full interview (one of my favorites) HERE where he talks about iconic photos of Mike Bossy, Billy Smith, and others.
I asked Bennett what he remembered from May 24th, 1980, in the moments prior to snapping one of the most iconic photos in Islanders’ history.
“My photo position was right alongside the penalty boxes back in the days where you were side open at center ice and could get hit at any angle, said Bennett, who grew up on Long Island. “It was the best position in professional sports. You thought you were part of the game.”
Bennett recalled the moments leading up to Nystrom’s Stanley Cup-winning goal. “Center ice looking down on my right, saw the play develop, but really you are shooting and not really thinking that’s going to be the play.”
The play was Lorne Henning circling back, finding John Tonelli, who then crisscrossed with Bob Nystrom the way they always had in practice, and JT making a perfectly struck pass that Mr. Islander deflected with the backhand passed the Flyers’ Pete Peeters for a goal frozen in time.
“In that moment, he scored, shot from the bench, jump over the board and photograph straight through the cup presentation. Back in those days, you don’t know [what you have]. Later that night, went back to the lab, processed the black and white film, and said ‘There’s the winner right there!”
Bennett says it was as close to perfect as you can get.
We agree. The team was pretty perfect too.
Coming up, the Islanders get to play outside and why Ilya Sorokin should play on Long Island for years to come. Plus, another reason to keep Varly, the Islanders’ tip-top new arena is ranked at the bottom of a survey, and the 2021 team closes out the Penguins in six games.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders will be playing outside again - this time as the home team in New Jersey. It was reported by several outlets this week that the Isles will “host” the New York Rangers at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, in February next season as part of the NHL’s Stadium Series.
The last time came on Jan. 29, 2014, at a frigid Yankee Stadium in a 2-1 loss to the Rangers. On that night, the temperature was just 22 degrees at face-off in the Bronx. After puck drop at 7:45 PM, the temperature dropped further as the teams played in single-digit weather factoring in the wind chill.
I have to tell you, I was there, and it was the coldest I’ve ever been at a sporting event. I spent the entire second period in the men’s room, trying to stay something resembling warm. I drank three hot chocolates. It was brutal.
There was a novelty to it, and you didn’t know when it would happen again (turned out to be in 10 years), but I’m not so sure I’m ready to do it again - unless it’s unseasonably warm in February.
A lot changes in 10 years, but not everything. There were five current Islanders and one current Ranger that participated in that game in the Bronx. The Identity Line of Casey Cizikas, Matt Martin, and Cal Clutterbuck didn't even have a nickname, and Josh Bailey was approximately 700 games away from 1,000. Chris Kreider is the lone Blueshirt in the lineup that is still playing on Broadway.
◾️ For The Hockey News, Stefan Rosner argues why the Islanders have little choice to extend Ilya Sorokin to a mega-deal and why Sergei Bobrovsky’s resurgence this postseason for the Florida Panthers provides an example of how paying a top goaltender to be a top goaltender in the Stanley Cup playoffs can pay dividends.
“Bobrovsky is showing that paying a goaltender is still a dominant route to winning a Cup, as he owns a .935 SV% with a 2.21 GAA with one shutout in 14 appearances, 13 starts,” writes Rosner.
Betting on Sorokin to play like Bobrovsky has this post-season may be the Islanders’ best short and long-term chance of making a run to the Stanley Cup Final over the next few seasons.
◾️ Meanwhile, over at Eyes on Isles, they talk about how this season’s playoffs have not been kind to goalies with extensive workloads during the regular season, which is another reason the Islanders should re-sign Semyon Varlamov.
Goalie tandems served three of the four teams that made the Conference Finals well. While Frederick Anderson, Adin Hill, and Sergei Bobrovsky have taken over starting goaltender duties in the playoffs for their respective teams. Each goaltender named was utilized as a part of a tandem in the regular season, or in the Vegas Golden Knights situation, needed goaltending by committee.
You could argue that Sorokin’s next contract warrants him playing around 60 games a year, but does being a workhorse during the season mean you won’t get the best version of Sorokin during the playoffs? The Islanders long playoff push led to Sorokin’s 62 games played this season and Varlamov only getting two starts after the trade deadline. If he is brought back, it’ll be worth watching whether the split will be different during the 2023-24 season.
🏆 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS:
UBS Arena is ranked the worst venue for hockey fans
This headline understandably drew attention this week. The Islanders brand-new, state-of-the-art arena ranked the worst for hockey fans in the NHL?
How could this be? UBS Arena is amazing! It’s an Islanders fan's orange and blue dream, with every detail specifically created to appeal to hockey fans, from the low roof to the sight lines, the number of bathrooms, and food options.
The “study” was based on an average price of an ounce of beer; proximity to public transit; proximity to an external restaurant; and availability of dedicated on-site parking. Given that, maybe the ranking isn’t all that surprising, but still, it’s somewhat absurd to judge an entire hockey fan’s experience based solely on those factors. You can’t put a price on not having to wait long in a bathroom line.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Adam Vignan, The Florida Panthers were in a playoff spot for only 28% of the regular season (54 of 190 days). They are the only team in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) to reach the Final after spending less than 30% of the season in a playoff spot.
🗓 ISLES REWIND: On May 26, 2021, Brock Nelson scored twice in a three-goal second period and rallied to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 in Game 6 of their first-round match-up to advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third straight season under head coach Barry Trotz.
“I thought we showed a lot of resiliency,” Trotz said. “I liked our resiliency, I liked our physicality, I liked our detail. ... Lots of good things. I liked the surge that we had with three goals in about three minutes there (in the second period). And then we battled.”
📺 Locked on Islanders: How Important is Signing Ilya Sorokin to an Extension this summer? Hosted by Gil Martin
🔗 Islanders rumors: What scoring options are out there? What can be dealt in 2023 offseason? by Joe Pantorno, AMNY “They still lack a well-rounded arsenal of firepower up front, which should become a priority when considering both Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat will be together for the next eight years — and the fact that a lack of scoring and capable power play undid their hopes in the playoffs yet again.”
🔗 Reliving Josh Bailey’s Best Moments With the Islanders by Sara Sturek, The Hockey Writers “After 15 seasons on Long Island, the 33-year-old forward’s future in New York is uncertain. During the 2022-23 regular season, Bailey scored a lousy 25 points – eerily similar to his first season in New York. This led even some of his most loyal fans to question whether his time with the team was finally over.”
And we leave you with this…we always love it when the Isles logo shows up on the big screen. It’s happened more than you would think! This time, Anders Lee’s sweater is seen in the R-rated trailer for "No Hard Feelings," starring Jennifer Lawrence.
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