Good Morning, Islanders Country.
The start of the season was a bit uneasy for Lane Lambert and uncomfortable for his Islanders roster. The coach and team admittedly was searching for chemistry, shuffling line combinations and mixing defense pairs while learning an adjusted system from the well-structured ways of working under Barry Trotz the previous season.
Sitting with a 2-4 record after six games, the Islanders embraced that discomfort. Rather than be discouraged, they approached those early growing pains as a sign of progress and practiced with a sense of urgency. Now are on the other side of it, they have shown resilience and trust in their new system.
"We're comfortable in any situation, said defenseman Scott Mayfield. At the start of the year, we were still trying to figure out systems a little bit more, but I think we've gotten a little bit stronger in that area, and like I said, any situation, I think we are ready to play.”
They’re comfortable playing with the lead; they’re comfortable playing from behind. The Islanders got comfortable being uncomfortable, and that has made them a formidable team in the Eastern Conference through 17 games, one looking to win their 10th game in 12 contests since that awkward start.
Coming up, Soshnikov clears waivers, but the next move isn’t clear, and an Isles draft picks is named captain. Plus, Bossy ties Espisito’s hat trick record, Andy Greene reflects on his time on Long Island, and Pinhead has a new addition.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders held a fully-attended practice on Long Island Wednesday morning before heading to Nashville to take on Vezina finalist Juuse Saros and the Predators later tonight.
The Preds are 6-8-1, sixth in the Central Division, after winning their last two games versus the New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild. Former Islander Nino Niederreiter, who signed with Nashville as a UFA this summer, has six goals and two assists for the Predators. Meanwhile, a player that never got to free agency, Filip Forsberg, has three goals and nine assists over the past 10 games.
News & Notes
◾️ UNLUCKY, NOT BAD: As of Wednesday, the penalty kill ranks fourth overall in the NHL at 84.2% despite allowing nine power-play goals in the last nine games after being perfect on the penalty kill in the first eight games this season. “(The) penalty kill has been fine, said Cal Clutterbuck. A couple of goals that have gone in lately have been unlucky.”
◾️BALANCED: Head coach Lane Lambert explained how the Islanders are a top-10 team in goal scoring despite not having any individual top-10 goal scorers. “We know what we are in terms of a balanced team, a four-line team, said Lambert. Our defense is contributing. Everyone has to contribute in order for us to have success.”
Forward Nikita Soshnikov went unclaimed and cleared waivers. Despite no official announcement from the team, according to CapFriendly, the 29-year-old Russian forward has been reassigned to the AHL Bridgeport Islanders.
So, what’s next?
◾️ The Islanders now have an open spot on the team, with 22 spots on the roster filled out of 23 available. Some speculated as to whether or not a recall could be on the horizon with the Islanders affiliate in the AHL playing so well; however, at this time, there hasn’t been a recall.
◾️ Soshnikov’s NHL salary is the same as his AHL salary at $750K. The Islanders’ cap space remains unchanged, currently sitting at $3,661,253. CapFriendly projects that the Islanders trade deadline cap space (which is constantly accruing with no players on LTIR) to be $16,126,948.
◾️ From Andrew Gross in Newsday, Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky and Todd Zeile will be the national honorees on Thursday night at the Greenwich Old Timers Athletic Association awards dinner in Stamford, Connecticut.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders continue their road trip tonight as they visit Nashville Predators. Face-off set for 8 PM
📊 STANDINGS:
🛩 CAPTAIN: On Wednesday, the Windsor Spitfires named Islanders 2022 5th-round pick (142nd overall) Mathew Maggio, their team captain. Maggio is in his third season with the Spitfires and is coming off a career year, scoring 38 goals and 85 points in the 2021-22 season. Through 15 games this season, Maggio has tallied 11 goals and 22 points.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, the Isles lead the NHL with 28 third-period goals; they have scored 29 goals in the 1st period, 2nd period, and overtime combined.
The Islanders have spent 4:16 playing 3-on-5 this season, most in the NHL. The team has earned ten points in the first eight road games for the fourth time in the last five years; prior to that, it had happened only four times in the Post-Cup era.
🗓 THIS DATE IN ISLANDERS HISTORY: On November 17, 1984, the Islanders routed the rival New York Rangers 10-4 at the Nassau Coliseum. In the lopsided victory, Mike Bossy scored the 32nd hat trick of his career, tying Phil Esposito for the most in NHL history, while Bryan Trottier added four assists.
🎧 Talkin' Isles: Andy Greene - Former Islanders defenseman Andy Greene joins Greg Picker and Cory Wright to talk college hockey, his first game at Nassau Coliseum, the 2012 run to the Stanley Cup Final with New Jersey, being traded to the Islanders, mentoring Noah Dobson and Mathew Barzal, and much more!
🔗 Is Horvat On Islanders’ Radar? Canucks Captain Could Be Missing Piece, by Stefen Rosner, NYIHockeyNow: “Right now, the Islanders have $13.46 million in deadline cap space, so the need to include an NHL regular in the deal to offload expenses isn’t necessary.”
🔗 Islanders Weekly: Third-Period Heroics Cover up Inconsistencies, by Jon Zella, The Hockey Writers: “The New York Islanders sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division, and third in the Eastern Conference, as of Nov. 16. But that doesn’t really tell the whole story of a team with high internal expectations and wildly inconsistent external expectations of where they’d be at the season’s end.”
And we leave you with this…many of you may already know Tom LoFaso, aka “Pinhead” of the Section 329 Blue and Orange Army. Well, he’s added a new addition to his collection. The Isle’s new reverse retro jerseys haven’t been seen on the ice yet, but its already making an appearance on LoFaso’s hat/head.
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