Good Morning, Islanders Country.
They say better late than never, but it doesn’t feel that way - not when late is this late.
The NHL finally acted, postposing Islanders’ games through November 30th, but not before eight separate Islanders (and others in the organization) tested positive for Covod-19, and not before the depleted lineup went winless in their first four games at home - a first in franchise history.
What’s done is done, and now the attention turns towards getting players back, ending an eight-game losing streak, and getting a derailed season back on track.
If you’re looking for hope, we have that for you. Plus, the Isles at the Stock Exchange, auctioned-off jerseys raise money for Hockey Fights Cancer and a Happy Birthday to a broadcasting legend.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The only news is Covid-19 news, how we got here, and the fall-out in the near and long-term for the Islanders and their season.
The deeper the Islanders got into their first homestand at UBS Arena, the more players they lost due to Covid protocol. The NHL finally stepped in after the Isles eighth player tested positive on Saturday leading to the postponement of all games through at least November 30th for the Isles.
The league’s statement came shortly before Lou Lamoriello announced Casey Cizikas as the eighth positive case. Leading up to Cizikas, here’s the timeline of positive cases as they were discovered:
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period suggested that Lamoriello had been asking the league to postpone games because of their Covid situation. However, when Lamoriello was asked if he had a hand in the postponed games, he denied having made a request to the league.
“I have never asked for games to be postponed,” Lamoriello said. “The league over the past couple of years certainly has invested in the best infectious disease medical doctors available. Both the union and the league, plus their own physicians. We have to trust their decisions, what goes into these decisions, what statistics allow them to make these conclusions. “I’m not privy to that. All we can do is respond to those decisions.”
In order for the Islanders to return to the ice, they will have to submit negative tests for three consecutive days to begin practicing. As of right now, last night’s game against the New York Rangers and tomorrow night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers have been postponed. Thursday’s contest against the San Jose Sharks (who had their own Covid issue) is still up in the air.
Had the NHL stepped up earlier, the Islanders very well could have been on the other side of this mess of a situation and many have been vocal of the league’s obvious fumble.
On the ice, the Islanders haven’t been able to overcome the adversity they’ve been dealing with since sleeping in their own beds. The Isles are 0-4-0 in their new home at Belmont and find themselves 12 points out of playoff position. The good news is they have games in hand and a favorable home schedule, but they’ll have to play near-perfect hockey once the team returns to full health.
Despite the eight-game skid, no one in the organization is making excuses - even if they have them. “I have to practice what I preach, what we have no control of you can’t be distracted by,” Lamoriello said when asked about his frustration level. “And all you can do is just stay focused on what you do have control of. And our coaching staff has done that, we’ve asked our players to do that and I think they’ve done a tremendous job over the set of circumstances.”
🤞 WISHFUL THINKING: Per Eric Hornick, fans can point to three Islanders seasons that looked bleak but ended with post-season berths.
The 2002-03 team started 5-11-1 (playing 11 of 17 at home) and were 12-16-5 through 33 games. The team finished as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 35-34-11-2 record.
The 2003-04 team, after opening 9-6-2, lost seven straight to fall to 9-13-2 before ending the season with 91 points and a 38-29-11-4 record to make the playoffs.
The 1989-90 team started 5-18-3 and made the playoffs in the Patrick Division, although their 31–38–11 record won’t cut it in 2021-22.
🤔 I NEED MORE: Now, the expectations for the Islanders were a tad higher than a first-round playoff exit, so here are two more recent examples of NHL teams that turned things around in a big way.
The 2010-11 Washington Capitals lost eight consecutive games from December 2nd to December 18th, 2010 only to finish with 107 points, the most in the Eastern Conference. The two lead goalies for them that season were former Islander Michael Neuvirth and current Islander Seymon Varlamov.
The 2018-19 St. Louis Blues had the worst record in the league having played 45 percent of their schedule (37 of 82 games). Their record was 15-18-4 (34 points) and finished 45-28-9 (99 points). The Isles would need to go 10-8-2 over their next 20 games to match the start of the 2018-19 Stanley Cup Champions.
⏭ NEXT UP: The earliest the Islanders can take the ice again would be at home on Thursday, December 2nd versus the San Jose Sharks at UBS Arena.
📊 STANDINGS:
🔔 RING MY BELL: This morning at 9:30 am, members of the Islanders’ organization, UBS Arena, and UBS will ring the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
You can tune in to watch here: http://nyse.com/bell
🎗 HOCKEY FIGHTS CANCER: During warm-ups Friday night, the Islanders and teams around the NHL wore special lavender jerseys that were auctioned off to raise funds for the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative.
A look at the auction results shows that Anthony Beauvillier had the highest-selling jersey at $3,600 while Mat Barzal’s had the most bids at 40, selling at $2,550.
👩🏫 SOUND SMART: None of what you are about to read is good. The Isles are 0-4-0 to open a home season for the first time in their history and have not led at any point in the last 356:44, having scored only seven goals in their last eight games - the fewest goals the Isles have scored in an eight-game stretch in their history. It's the first time since 2010-11 that the Isles have lost eight straight in regulation.
🔗 Islanders now begin wait to return after COVID postponements by Joe Pantotno, amNY. “The call came after an eighth Islanders player, center Casey Cizikas, tested positive for the virus along with three team staff members, president and general manager Lou Lamoriello announced on Saturday. Josh Bailey, Anders Lee, Adam Pelech, Andy Greene, Ross Johnston, Zdeno Chara, and Kieffer Bellows also tested positive over that week-long stress.”
🔗 Islanders' COVID-19 outbreak could have long-term effect on struggling team by Andrew Gross, Newsday “We certainly have spoken to our trainers and our medical staff and everything is on an individual basis," Lamoriello said when asked about the infected players’ stamina once they return to the ice. "This virus has affected people in all different ways. It certainly has affected our own players. So, we won’t have any answers to those questions until we get each and every one of them on the ice and see how they feel and see how they look.”
🔗 Islanders Have Internal & External Ways to Stop Bleeding by Brandon Gimpel, The Hockey Writers “They currently find themselves in the midst of an eight-game losing streak in which they’ve lost all eight in regulation. Their defense has suffered a noticeable drop-off from just a season ago, and multiple key players are suffering droughts offensively. The silver lining is that there is still time for the Islanders to salvage the season, but time is running out. So, what can the team do to turn things around?”
🎧 Islanders Anxiety - Episode 181 - A Stretch of Absolute Hell with Dan Saraceni and Michael Leeboff “They talk about how the injury and COVID situations have impacted the players on the ice, as well as the failures of execution that have led them to dropping eight straight games. They also weigh the knowledge that the team’s immediate future is very much hanging by a thread with the feeling that there are lights at the end of a very long tunnel.”
And we leave you with this… Happy Birthday to former Islanders play-by-play announcer Kenneth “Jiggs” McDonald who turned 83 on Sunday. McDonald joined the Islanders broadcast for the 1980-81 season, embarking on a 15-year run working alongside former captain Ed Westfall. In 1990, McDonald received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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