Good Morning Islanders Country,
We hope your week is off to a better start than the Islanders season.
Now, repeat after us, “It’s not time to panic, it’s not time to panic.”
Feel better? No? Well, we tried.
We’ll catch you up on all the news from the weekend… But first, let’s recap game Saturday night’s game versus the Florida Panthers.
🏒 IN SHORT: Sam Bennett had to make it up to the Florida Panthers, as his only other previous hat trick was against his current club on January 13th, 2016 as a member of the Calgary Flames. Well actually, he potted four against that night, but you get the idea. Bennett’s hat trick this past Saturday propelled the Panthers to a 5-1 victory over the New York Islanders. Sergei Bobrovsky was tested early and often (despite what the score says), however, rose to the occasion with 29 saves on 30 shots. Ilya Sorokin wasn’t as fortunate, allowing five goals on 29 shots [Box Score].
🗣 QUOTEBOOK:
BREAK IT DOWN: “When we've been breaking down, we've been really breaking down in some areas, and a lot of it starts with some of our execution and some of our decisions.” - Barry Trotz on uncharacteristic defensive play
IN THE ZONE: “It's a combination of things, but we're spending too much time in our own zone. We're getting worn out down there. It takes a toll on you. You maybe don't have the energy to close quickly and kill the play right away. It starts at the beginning of the game, every time they enter the zone we have to be dialed in with that. There's no excuses there.” - Adam Pelech on D struggles
SEABASS: “(Sebastian Aho) is a puck-moving defenseman, yeah we’ll definitely consider that. We’re not doing that consistently enough. He deserves a shot, he’s been a really good pro. I don’t know if it’ll be next game or what, but he deserves a shot because of his attitude, his work ethic, and his ability.” - Barry Trotz on putting Sebastian Aho in the line-up
🔑 KEY MOMENT(S):
🔻 In the second period, the Islanders momentarily thought they had cut the Panthers lead in half on a Ryan Pulock goal when he slapped a shot into a wide-open net, but there was a reason the net was left unoccupied.
OVERTURNED: Although an interference penalty was called on Panthers’ D Radko Gudas on the play, Flordia challenged and the referees determined that Anders Lee had interfered with Sergei Bobrovsky when his right skate made contact with him in the crease. The goal was overturned and the Islanders were unable to convert on their subsequent power-play opportunity.
🔻 After the Islanders failed to capitalize on numerous chances, they found themselves (perhaps undeservedly) down 3-0 after this incredible ‘reception’ and goal by Anthony Duclair. “I was shocked why he didn't use his hand,” Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. “The way he took it off his tape there was an unbelievable play.”
3 TAKEAWAYS
❶ DEFENSIVE BREAKDOWNS: The Islanders didn't allow five goals in consecutive games during the shortened 2020-21 season, but did so for a second-straight contest to open the current season. The defense has been softer than we have come accustomed to (see: Noah Dobson vs Sam Bennett from Saturday) and has not executed the fundamentals of their structure with any consistency. Plus, Sorokin hasn’t been nearly good enough in net. Per Eyes on Isles and NaturalStatTrick , Sorokin, playing No.1 goalie until Seymon Varlamov is ready, has allowed nine goals on 4.71 expected goals against.
❷ THE MINUS TOUCH: In his second game back with the Islanders, Zdeno Chara went -4 for the eighth time in his career, and first since November 5, 2010. At 44 years old, the question of whether time has finally caught up with “Big Z” will come up after games like this. If the team looks to Aho in the coming week, Chara’s spot next to Dobson appears most likely.
❸ SIGNS OF LIFE: The Islanders scored their first power-play goal of the season 3:30 into the third when Oliver Wahlstrom snapped a shot past Bobrovsky 10 seconds into their fourth power-play of the game. “You just have to continue to work,” Wahlstrom said after the game. “It’s not coming easy right now. We have a bunch of great players who make a great power play. We just have to bear down and work a little harder.” The Isles had nine shots with the man-advantage on Saturday.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders head to Chicago to take on Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marc-Andre Fleury, and the Blackhawks on Tuesday. The game starts at 8:00 pm and will be airing on ESPN, which means no Brendan Burke or Butch Goring.
📊 STANDINGS: Remember to breathe:
🚨 GOAL-YSHEV: 2016 4th round pick Anatolii Golyshev made his North America debut with the Bridgeport Islanders on Saturday in a 2-1 shootout loss to Providence. On Sunday, he scored his first AHL goal. The Junior Islanders lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Springfield Thunderbirds. Bridgeport is 0-1-2 this season.
📚 SOUND SMART: The Islanders are 0-2 for the first time since 2016-17 and have allowed 11 goals in the first two games for the first time since 1995.
COACHING VETS: The game was the 98th time Joel Quenneville and Barry Trotz were behind opposing benches. Including 11 playoff meetings, Quenneville holds a 51-44 edge over Trotz. There were three ties in the matchups, the last of those coming in 2002, two years before ties no longer became possible in NHL games.
😅 PERSPECTIVE: The Hurricanes finished the 2020-21 season fourth overall in the NHL with 80 points, and the Panthers right after with 79, so the start of the season was always bound to be a challenge. Plus, the Islanders have a history of stumbling out of the gate in the Barry Trotz era:
🆓 FREE BAGELS!: The good folks at Blue Line Deli and Bagels were giving out free blue and orange bagels (with no purchase necessary) to celebrate game-day and the start of hockey season. An awesome gesture from Donald Rosner and the team.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: Happy Birthday to fan-favorite Darius Kasparaitis, who turned 49 on Saturday. Drafted 5th overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, the Soviet Union-born defenseman was known for his colorful personality, hip checks, and getting under the skin of some of the game’s top players.
🔗 Kyle Palmieri a good fit on the Islanders’ top line with Mat Barzal and Anders Lee, by Andrew Gross, Newsday: “In the preseason, we kind of got the chemistry going a little bit and scored some goals," Barzal said. "It was nice to get a few. Early in the season, you want to start feeling good about your game and I thought our line [Thursday] was pretty good. We can clean some stuff up but, in terms of our line, I thought there was some good stuff there.”
🔗 Islanders Secure Top D Duo Long-Term, by James Nichols, The Fourth Period: “After losing Devon Toews and Nick Leddy in consecutive off-seasons, it’s clear that Lamoriello is doing his due diligence to avoid being handcuffed again in the future.”
🔗Islanders’ Pulock Is Getting Noticed, and Rightfully So, by Mike Fink, The Hockey Writers: “In each of the past three seasons, Pulock has contributed 4.2 defensive point shares or more, leading the roster in the category in each season, and has 100 blocked shots or more per season as well. Moreover, he became one of the best defensive zone defensemen as he broke up opposing scoring chances and would limit passing lanes to help turn the Islanders into one of the best defensive units in the NHL, a unit that allowed only 2.33 goals per game in 2018-19 and 2.23 goals per game in 2020-21, both of which were either the best or second-best in the NHL that season.”
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