Good Morning, Islanders Country.
To those of you that subscribed to ESPN+ to watch that last night, we’re sorry. The Islanders (5-6-2) were routed 6-1 by the Florida Panthers, finishing their NHL-record 13-game season-opening road trip on a four-game losing streak. It is the second straight season that the Isles have gone 5-6-2 in their first thirteen road games.
There was not-so-good news before the game and things got worse in a hurry after puck drop. Ryan Pulock was scratched with a lower-body injury one day after he broke Denis Potvin’s record for consecutive games played by a defenseman. On top of that, it was announced that the struggling Josh Bailey was placed in COVID-19 protocol (after the game it was said he tested positive for COVID and will remain in Florida to quarantine).
Not only were the lines and D-pairs unrecognizable, so was the play of a Barry Trotz-coached Islanders team that allowed four goals in the first period and appeared to be looking ahead to returning home despite a plea for urgency from their coach.
Later in this edition, a new LIRR station opens for the first time in half a century, Uncle Leo in a new shade of blue, and the Isles are in the NFT business.
But first, let’s recap last night’s game and dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: The Panthers remained unbeaten at home (8-0-0) and scored four goals in the first period on their way to a 6-1 victory. Six different goal scorers got on the stat sheet for the Panthers, while Kyle Palmieri recorded the only Islanders tally for his first of the season. Ilya Sorokin was replaced by Semyon Varlamov to start the second period. Varlamov allowed two goals on 19 shots faced.
🔑 KEY MOMENT(s):
🔻 After killing off an Islanders power play, Anthony Duclair shows his speed, gaining a step on Adam Pelech, and gets the puck to an open Jonathan Huberdeau on the backside who beats Ilya Sorokin with an elevated shot for the game’s first goal.
🔻 Brandon Montour’s backhand was tipped by Patric Hornqvist and while Sorokin made the initial save, Ryan Lomberg was left unattended to and roofed a shot over the netminder’s left shoulder to give Florida a 2-0 lead. At that point, the game already felt out of reach.
🔻 After Carter Verhaeghe made it 3-0, Hörnqvist found an inch or two above Sorokin’s right shoulder to make it a four-goal first period for the Panthers. It was the first time since March 30th, 2017 vs Philadelphia that the Isles allowed four first-period goals.
🔷 If there was a bright spot, it was that Kyle Palmieri finally broke through, showing some patience, holding the puck on his stick long enough to freeze Sergei Bobrovsky and wrist it underneath the cross-bar.
3 TAKEAWAYS
❶ WAKE-UP CALL: The Islanders were thoroughly dominated from the drop of the puck. They were not committed to the defensive style of play we’re used to seeing from them and paid for it dearly. The Panthers scored three goals in a span of fewer than four minutes and never recovered. Their poor start puts them last in the Metropolitan Division.
VERY UPSET: "We're definitely upset with our play, we take a lot of pride in who we are how we play. It's not easy, but we'll be upset about this tonight, get home, get the body ready for that home opener. It's time for us to pick it up and play our game, four lines, six D, two goalies and come out hard.” - Casey Cizikas on the team’s performance to end the trip
NIGHTMARE STUFF: "It's turned into a little bit of a long nightmare a little bit the last little while here. “We can’t fix it unless we’re all committed to it. It can’t be one or two guys.” - Barry Trotz after how the Isles’ trip ended with the loss
❷ 5 AND THE GAME: Scott Mayfield was tossed from the game after a controversial call where his knee collided with Panthers’ forward Aleksander Barkov in the second period. Mayfield received a major penalty along with a kneeing minor, forcing the Isles to play with five d-men the rest of the game. "No intent” was Trotz’s reaction when asked about the play.
❸ KIDS ARE OK: Despite the poor result, both Kieffer Bellows and Sebastian Aho were noticeable at several points tonight. Aho looked more confident with the puck and recorded just over 20 minutes of ice time. Bellows was throwing his weight around and grabbed his first point of the year on Palmieri’s lone goal. The analytics back up the strong games from Bellows and Dobson.
⏭ NEXT UP: That bright, beautiful orange on the upcoming schedule means that there are finally home games to play. Three off-days to get the team right and ready for one of the most anticipated events in franchise history. The Isles will play 25 of their next 36 games at home, a stretch that runs through the start of the Olympic break in February.
📊 STANDINGS:
📰 NEWS
Prior to the game, Barry Trotz spoke with the media and discussed the long leash he gives veteran players, the trouble finding a rhythm during a quirky 13-game road trip, and the message to his struggling team.
DEEP BREATH: “It's not that we're going to outscore our problem. We're going to outplay our problem. You have to take a little bit of a deep breath. This is always a test for a team. You're going to go through times in the season when you're not feeling it offensively.”
MORE RUNWAY: “A veteran player has a little more runway because they've earned it. There's going to be a point where the runway runs out,” said Trotz. “A guy like Wally doesn't have as much runway. If you don't nip it in the bud early then it becomes a problem. That's how you have to do it with young guys.”
LOSING RHYTHM: “It's been harder to sustain momentum. We haven't had a rhythm. It's probably set some of our players out of sorts.”
🚆 READY TO GO: The MTA opened the eastbound side of the new Long Island Railroad Station in Elmont, just in time for the Islanders’ home opener this Saturday. This is the first time there has been a newly built station in nearly 50 years. Officials say the westbound side of the station will be under construction until 2022.
🇷🇺 SANS UNCLE: We got our first look at Leo Komarov in a SKA sweater. He will wear No. 74 after signing a two-year contract to play in the KHL last week.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per MSG’s Eric Hornick, Tuesday’s lopsided defeat marked the first time in the Barry Trotz era the Islanders have allowed four goals in four straight games. The Isles were assessed 46 penalty minutes to Florida's nine.
It is the first time in club history the Isles recorded at least 46 penalty minutes while the opponent collected fewer than ten.
🎧 Nassaumen Hockey Podcast: In this week’s episode, James and Jon got behind the mic after their loss to the Panthers discuss the Islanders’ recent skid, diving into offensive woes, defensive breakdowns, and the lone brightspot—the goaltending.
🎧 Hockey Press Pass Podcast with Chris Botta “Actor Kevin Connolly on the Night He Drafted Brock Nelson, Telling John Spano’s Story for ESPN, and the Highs and Lows of a Die-hard Islanders Fan”
🔗 Islanders happy to reach end of the road and move into new home by Andrew Gross, Newsday “I think everybody’s got the home opener circled for sure, there’s no denying that," Brock Nelson said before Tuesday’s game. "You couldn’t really overlook the games we had, the trips. They were kind of broken up so we had some breaks where we were able to get home and get some rest."
🔗 Islanders Prospect Report: Nov. 15, 2021 by Sasha Kandrach, NewYorkIslanders.com “William Dufour continues to dominate in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Saint John Sea Dogs. The Islanders' 2020 fifth-rounder (152nd overall) scored three goals in his last two games to bring his season total up to 15 tallies, which is tied for the most in the entire QMJHL, and 27 points, which is the fourth most in the league.”
🎧 No Sleep Till Belmont Ep. 119 - Isles legend Denis Potvin joins the show! by The Athletic: Denis Potvin discusses the Nassau Coliseum’s heyday, excitement about UBS Arena, thoughts on the Lou Lamoriello-Barry Trotz Islanders, Zach Parise, JP Parise, Al Arbour, Mike Bossy. Plus, Arthur Staple recaps the Islanders’ last few games.
And we leave you with this …. Do you understand how NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) work? No? To be honest, me either, but some must.
The New York Islanders and UBS Arena Partners announced a multi-year deal with Orange Comet, powered by the Avalanche Blockchain, to produce and sell NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens).
You can watch the NFT hype video HERE
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