Good Morning, Islanders Country.
The Islanders need a win - badly. Not just for the standings, but for the mental well-being of the fan base and the players. It’s getting a little ugly in comment sections along with a relentless onslaught of negativity on Twitter (we know - you’re shocked).
Fans are desperate for answers but are at odds as to what (or who) is to blame for the team’s current predicament and how to fix it. The criticism and opinions range far, from lineup decisions and roster construction to aging defensemen and underperforming forwards.
We were told the locker room was more upbeat than many thought and remained confident, but that was a week ago. The Islanders have lost three more games since then, and with each game, the frustration grows as wins remain elusive. Tonight in Ottawa is another opportunity to end the losing streak, this time against one of the few teams behind them in the Eastern Conference standings.
Coming up, we look at the Islanders’ luck, or rather - their lack of it, meet the Isles’ new beat writer at The Athletic, a brand new low, and throw it back to 1997.
Let’s dive in.
🎰 GOT LUCK?: If you’re the Islanders, the answer to that question is no. While they’re not structurally playing their best hockey (to put it lightly), they’re also terribly unlucky as of late. As the saying goes, “you have to be lucky to be good and good to be lucky” and the Isles have been neither.
The bounces aren’t going their way, but they’re also not capitalizing on the bouncers they are getting. A lot of pucks missing the net to go along with a list of mistakes a mile long.
📉 POWER LOSS: The Score published their fifth Power Rankings of the season on Monday and while one should expect to scroll a while after their team loses 11 straight, seeing the Islanders at No. 32 was still a bit jarring. The edition also featured the most improved player on each team, with Ilya Sorokin named for the Islanders.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders are in Ottawa tonight to take on the Senators. The Sens are playing the second game of a back-to-back after defeating the Devils 3-2 in a shootout last night. On Thursday, the Isles return home against the Nashville Predators.
📊 STANDINGS: The Flyers fired head coach Alain Vigneault on Monday and named Mike Yeo interim coach. The change wasn’t enough to end their losing streak as the Colorado Avalanche defeated Philadelphia 7-5 last night.
✍️ AND THE BEAT GOES ON: When Arthur Staple announced he would also be covering the New York Rangers this season he indicated that a new Islanders writer would be joining The Athletic in due course. On Monday, we learned that Kevin Kurz, staff writer for the San Jose Sharks over the last decade was moving east to take over the beat. Kevin introduced himself to Isles Nation with a piece on his career, NY DNA, and why there are parallels between the Isles and the team he is leaving.
The Sharks were elite when I got here in 2011, too, coming off back-to-back appearances in the conference final. Why weren’t they getting the same kind of love and respect as the other teams in their immediate vicinity?
Does any of this sound familiar?
I imagine it does if you’re an Islanders fan. And that’s just one of many reasons I believe — and I hope you do, too — that I’m the right reporter to take the reins of the coverage of your team from the more-than-capable hands of Arthur Staple (though I know he will continue to chime in from time to time to report and opine on the team in this space, as well; such is the benefit of being a subscriber).
We wish Kevin the best on the beat & #IslesTwitter. You can follow him @KKurzNHL
🎁 HOLIDAY SPIRIT: The charity work of Anders Lee through Jam Kancer and his relationship with the late Fenov Pierre Louis has been well-documented in recent years. Yesterday, Lee tweeted out that his family and Jam Kancer will be helping those families dealing with a cancer diagnosis. You can e-mail Info@jamkancerinthekan.com to tell them your story.
👩🏫 SOUND SMART: On Sunday night, Noah Dobson became the seventh player in Islander history to score a tying goal in the final four seconds of regulation time. Via The Skinny, here is the full list:
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: As much as it was a painful time to live through, the late ‘90s have a whole heck of a lot of nostalgia for fans of a certain age. Seeing Ziggy Palffy snipe and Tommy Salo make incredible saves brings back a lot of memories. They didn’t win very often, but this was a great highlight package from their 4-0 victory over the Keith Tkachuk and the Coyotes.
🔗 Revisiting the Islanders’ Decision to Expose Jordan Eberle, Jon Zella, The Hockey Writers: “The Islanders — who let Eberle go due to cap restraints heading into the season because they thought they had replacement level goal scoring from, at the very least, Palmieri — might be regretting that decision. To be fair, he was great in last season’s playoff run, outscoring Eberle seven to four in goals, and appeared to be a reliable 1-to-1 replacement for Eberle next to Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee.”
🔗 Islanders Prospect Report: Dec. 6, 2021, by Sasha Kandrach, NewYorkIslanders.com “Aatu Raty continues to heat up with Jukurit of Liiga, Finland's top tier professional ice hockey league. Raty, who the Islanders drafted 52nd overall in the second round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, posted a two-goal performance on Dec. 3 lifting Jukurit 4-2 over SaiPa. The goals marked Raty's fifth and sixth tallies with Jukurit. Through nine games, the 19-year-old center has 11 points (6G, 5A).”
🔗 The rise of Noah Dobson on the Islanders' defense by Andrew Gross, Newsday “The adversity the Islanders have faced, namely a COVID-19 outbreak and an injury to top-pair defenseman Ryan Pulock, seems to have accelerated that process. Dobson has been the best player among the Islanders’ skaters of late, certainly among the defensemen in all three zones as he’s shown an improved confidence in his defensive positioning and stickhandling in the Islanders’ zone and in joining the attack up ice. "He’s had to take on a bigger role," coach Barry Trotz said. "Sometimes, you’re forced to grow up real quick in tough situations. I think he has."
🎥: TSN Original: The Unwanted Visitor, Rick Westhead, TSN: Former New York Islander head coach, Ted Nolan, has barely worked in the NHL after winning its Coach of the Year award in 1997. Despite a sometimes turbulent relationship with those in the league, Nolan believes he should be coaching in the NHL. So why is he on the outside, looking in? Rick Westhead has more in this TSN Original.
And we leave you with this…be reminded of the Islanders dynasty and the sounds of Jiggs McDonald and Ed Westfall with this “Sports Channel” shirt from Off Peak Co.
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