Good Morning, Islanders Country.
The team needing to breakout is dealing with another outbreak. While the latest pause allowed Mat Barzal to get back on the ice and Ryan Pulock (skating, no timetable for return) to inch closer without missing as many games, four more players were added to COVID protocols on Sunday, making it 15 Islanders that have been on the COVID list since the start of the season.
The news puts a damper on hopes of a turnaround this year, with their season *currently* scheduled to resume Wednesday night against one of the teams they will be chasing to re-enter the playoff picture.
Coming up, the NHL & NHLPA negotiate COVID roster relief including the return of the taxi squad. Plus, the Isles land on a disappointment list, the case against a trade for Jakob Chychrun, and blue and orange gifts found under the Christmas tree.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: It’s déjà vu or late November all over again. It was an all too familiar scene Sunday afternoon as GM Lou Lamoriello informed the media that additional Islanders have entered the league’s COVID-19 protocols. This time around it is Anthony Beauvillier, Cal Clutterbuck, Zach Parise and Oliver Wahlstrom.
"We have no indication that we will not be playing," Lamoriello said of hosting the Red Wings at UBS Arena on Wednesday. Detroit has its own growing list of Covid issues - including a former Islander. If the game at UBS Arena on Wednesday is played as scheduled, don’t expect a tribute video for Nick Leddy. The defenseman along with impressive rookie Lucas Raymond were placed into COVID-19 protocol as well on Sunday.
"Certainly there will be challenges, but I know the Islanders won't care and they may still have their own challenges," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said on Sunday.
🔙 HE’S BACK: First he was back on social media, now he’s back on the ice. Mathew Barzal was activated off the COVID-19 list and was a participant in Sunday’s practice at Northwell Health Center after testing positive in Detroit on December 14th. After the extended break, NHL players were able to report to their team facilities where they were tested before being able to resume team activities.
🔄 RETURNING: Forward Matt Martin and young defenseman Robin Salo, are expected to be activated prior to the game. Both had tested positive and missed the Islanders 4-3 shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on December 19th.
🚕 TAXI SQUAD: Cole Bardreau, Simon Holmstrom, and Grant Hutton were reassigned to the Islanders’ newly-created taxi squad (more on how it works and other roster relief later below) from their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. The Islanders could have added as many as six players to the taxi quad but the team is awaiting test results from Bridgeport as several of their players have also been in COVID-19 protocol.
🆘 COVID RELIEF: SportsNet’s Elliot Friedman reported that the NHL & NHLPA formalized COVID roster relief on Sunday, including optional use of taxi-squad through the All-Star game; emergency call-ups as long as the player is making no more than $1M; and freedom to add a goalie if a club has less than two healthy goaltenders due to the virus. The details on each are below:
GOALTENDERS: Teams will be allowed to add an additional goalie when two regulars are not available. This is in place for the rest of the season
EMERGENCY CAP EXEMPTION: From here on in, teams in danger of dressing fewer than two goalies, six defencemen or 12 forwards for a game will be able to make emergency recalls. The cap hit of any such player cannot exceed $1-million.
TAXI SQUADS: These are in-place until the All-Star Break, for now. Teams don’t have to use them; maximum of six players; no one can be on it more than 20 days. There are some eligibility requirements. You can’t be on it if you're on an NHL roster as of Dec. 22 (with the exception of emergency recall); are waiver-exempt; were on the NHL roster for at least 75 per cent of the regular-season days or played in 16 of a team’s last 20 games through Dec. 22 (goalies who dressed but did not play is counted as having “played”)
⏭ NEXT UP: On Friday night, the NHL postponed return to play an extra day, announcing the schedule will now resume on Tuesday, December 28th. The decision was done “to allow the League an adequate opportunity to analyze League-wide testing results and to assess Club’s readiness to play.”
This meant the Islanders and Buffalo Sabres matchup slated for tonight will now be rescheduled at a later date. The Islanders have had five games postponed since Nov. 28 and 15 players enter COVID-19 protocol since November 16th.
The Islanders’ next contest comes Wednesday when they host the Detroit Red Wings at UBS Arena after going 0-1-1 in two games in Detroit this season.
📊 STANDINGS:
🤔 BAD IDEA? The rumors about a possible Jakob Chychrun trade continue to swirl, and the Islanders continue to be linked to the Arizona Coyotes' defenseman. However, Mike Fink of The Hockey Writers provides a few reasons why a move of this magnitude may not be the right one for the Islanders at this time.
The Coyotes’ Asking Price - The demand for Chychrun at the moment is high, allowing the Coyotes to field the best offer and one that can give them the most assets and the greatest return. Similar to the Jack Eichel trade, where the Buffalo Sabres found two teams interested in acquiring the talented center but ended up trading Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights for multiple young and promising players, the Coyotes will take their time and wait for the best offer.
Chychrun Isn’t a Quick Fix to the Defense - Chychrun (currently on injured reserve with an upper-body injury) has struggled defensively this season, albeit on a team that is playing poorly across the board, and any team that acquires him will have to manage around the potential weaknesses that he has shown this season.
Chychrun’s Defensive Skill Set - Chychrun scored 18 goals and added 23 assists to the Coyotes offense last season, both of which were second-most on the team. However, on the defensive end of the ice, Chychrun has struggled at times and can potentially become a liability to the Islanders if they acquire him.
😔 DISAPPOINTMENT: It’s no secret the Islanders have fallen short of expectations this season and Marko Zlomislic of The Hockey Writers explains why Islanders are one of the three MOST disappointing teams (along with Seattle and Montreal) in 2021-22:
The Islanders’ offensive beacon in Mathew Barzal has struggled to emulate his previous levels of production. His 17 points in 23 games this season represents another entry in a worrying trend of stagnating point totals ever since his explosive rookie campaign of 85 points in 82 games. It’s not for lack of trying though, as Barzal is posting the highest shot-attempt (CF/60) and individual expected goals (ixG/60) rates of his career. The slippery center is in the midst of a dire slump that’s only been exacerbated by tumultuous lineup upheaval every night.
The team has also been without defensive stalwart Ryan Pulock for much of the campaign, as the right-handed defenseman has only featured in 12 of New York’s 26 games after suffering a significant foot injury. His absence has unsurprisingly been a critical loss, especially considering his success as one half of the Islanders’ go-to pair with Adam Pelech. Of the defensive pairs to have played at least 300 minutes together last season, the Pelech-Pulock connection dominated play, accounting for 62.7% of expected goals (fourth in the NHL), and ranked second in expected goals against per-60-minutes (xGA/60). For a group whose collective identity revolves around their restrictive defensive blueprint, the loss of Pulock simultaneously neutralizes the most impactful tool at their disposal.
Barring any more postponements, the season is set to get back underway in the coming days, and although it won’t be easy there is still more than half of the season left to play, and the Islanders have games in hand to make their way off the disappointing list by the end of the season.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: On this day in Islanders’ history, the Isles defeat the Washington Capitals in a thrilling post-Christmas matchup back in 2016. Andrew Ladd scored two goals including the game-winning goal in the third period. Anders Lee and Cal Clutterbuck also found the back of the net, Thomas Hickey and Alan Quine record multi-assist games, and Jaroslav Halak secured the victory making 34-saves.
🔗 The few highs and brutal lows of Islanders’ season before Christmas hiatus, by Ethan Sears, NYPost: “So much of success or failure comes down to luck. The Islanders couldn’t control starting the season with 13 straight road games. They couldn’t control a COVID-19 outbreak, or the NHL refusing to postpone their games until it was too late, or the league instituting a holiday pause just as they were starting to play well.”
🔗 Islanders players that have leveled up or powered down, by Michel Anderson, Eyes on Isles: “Another pause in the New York Islanders schedule gives us a chance to pause and think about the season. With that, I thought we could take the time to look at a few players that have taken a step up and some that have taken a step down this year.”
🔗 What Your Team Is Thankful For: New York Islanders, by Brian La Rosa, ProHockeyRumors: “In the spirit of the holiday season, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season passes the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the New York Islanders.”
And we leave you with this… It was a Blue & Orange holiday weekend as Isles Twitter was flooded with pictures of Islanders-themed gifts.
Here are some of our favorite pulls:
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