Let Them Play
If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans - or the Isles’ upcoming schedule.
Good Morning, Islanders Country.
We’re back from our pause and the Isles should be soon which is reason to smile.
The Isles are scheduled to play hockey this week - with an emphasis on “scheduled” as their next opponent, the New Jersey Devils, are dealing with COVID issues and had their game Monday postponed versus the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Oh, and their opponent after that, the Philadelphia Flyers, had their Tuesday game with the Carolina Hurricanes postponed late Monday for the same reason. Fun times.
Coming up, Big Z is a big help to Dobson and a look back at first-time goal scorers in Islanders’ games. Plus, things are getting weird over at Lighthouse Hockey, checking in on a Fighting Irish prospect, and in Assists, Arthur Staple talks to the Nassaumen Hockey Podcast about the Chychrun sweepstakes.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The only constant in life and the Islanders’ 2021-22 season is change. The Isles have nine postponed games that have yet to be re-scheduled and experience has taught them that their schedule (even a revised one) is anything but set.
The team is preparing to take the ice for just the 3rd time since their game on December 19th on Thursday, but the current state of the New Jersey Devils could complicate things as nine of their players are in COVID-19 protocol after defenseman Damon Severson and forward Janne Kuokkanen were added to the list on Sunday.
"We’ve practiced enough. The guys, they’re ready to go. They want to play. They’re getting a little tired of practicing and we need to get some games in, plain and simple, said Barry Trotz. We can’t be 10, 11, 12 games behind everybody else."
Also worth watching is the Flyers situation. The Islanders have a home and home scheduled with Philadelphia for Monday and Tuesday. As of Monday night, Philadelphia had three players in protocol - Claude Giroux, Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny, but that list could be growing.
🔒 TWO MONTHS AND COUNTING: The four to six-week lower-body injury to Ryan Pulock hit the eight-week mark on Monday and there is still no timetable for when the defenseman will be back with the team.
“He’s still in his protocols in terms of his timeline," Trotz said. "I know that he’s been seeing the doctor and going through all the stages, all the imagery, all that. When they say he’s ready to pop over to the group, then I’ll have an update."
🏒 ROLE MODEL: Over at WFAN.com, Peter Schwartz writes that the presence of Zdeno Chara has accelerated Noah Dobson’s growth, contributing to him playing the best hockey of his young career. After a shaky start to the season that included being a healthy scratch, Dobson has stepped up with Ryan Pulock out of the line-up, delivering timely goals and showcasing an offensive game brimming with confidence. The just-turned 22-year-old has been on the ice for the last seven Islanders goals, adding four goals and four assists over the last seven games.
LEARNING LOTS: “(Chara’s) definitely someone that as a young defenseman you can learn lots from,” said Dobson. He’s played in the league for a long time. He’s done everything. We know where each other is at on the ice and we’ve been talking lots. He’s a great guy for me. He’s always talking to me. He’s great. He’s always there to support and talk to me and it’s been huge for me.”
MENTORSHIP “They’ve come together,” said Trotz. “They’re more complete. The mentorship of Chara at the start with Noah was probably very valuable for where Noah is right now. Them being together at the start didn’t work out the way we anticipated right off the bat, but both guys are in a different place and they’re back together and they’ve been very solid.”
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders are expected back on the ice at UBS Arena on Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils. It will be the first of what will be 10 home games in an 11 game-stretch after their trip to Seattle and Western Canada was canceled.
📊 STANDINGS:
⏚ GETTING WEIRD: This weird season just got weirder. Our friend Dan Saraceni (@CultureofLosing) at Lighthouse Hockey debuted a new podcast series on Monday “Weird Islanders” will feature obscure Islanders that played for the team a season or less (or short stints over multiple seasons) as well as veterans that are not remembered for their time on Long Island.
It should be fun - and weird. First up was Brian Rolston with special guest Carey Haber joining Dan. You can take a listen HERE.
🎓CAWLIDGE HAWKEY: The college football season ended last night, but the collegiate hockey season is in full swing. This week’s Islanders Prospect Report noted that 2018 4th round selection (103rd overall) Jake Pivonka, who has missed much of his senior season with a lower-body injury, picked up his first two points of the year with an assist in each of Notre Dame’s wins against Penn State over the weekend. In the 5-4 win on January 8th, Pivonka's assist came on the OT winner, earning him the team's player of the game award. Notre Dame is 15-6 overall this season with an 8-3 conference record.
Named one of five Notre Dame captains for the 2021-22 season, Pivonka is the son of long-time Washington Capitals’ forward, Michal Pivonka and represented Team USA at the 2020 World Junior Hockey Championship To read more about Pivonka, check out this November 2020 profile by Drive4Five.
📚 SOUND SMART: You know how it feels the Islanders are always allowing a player’s first NHL goal? It happened earlier this season in Columbus when Cole Sillinger netted his first as a pro and now (thanks to Eric Hornick), we have the complete list of all 40 players that have done it against the Isles since 2012-13.
Among the notable names: Tom Wilson, JT Miller, Long Island’s own Sonny Milano, sorta ex-Islander Erik Gustaffson and Seth Jones. As for the Islanders, 28 skaters have scored their first goal in that same span - the first being Casey Cizikas.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: On January 10th, 1977 the Islanders defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 8-3 at the Nassau Coliseum. Bryan Trottier set a team record by scoring just 16 seconds into the game and Bob Nystrom scored his 3rd (and final) hat trick of his career beating Bernie Parent three times in the first two periods. A national TV audience on NBC’s Monday Night Hockey watched as the Islanders' victory moved them within three points of the Flyers in the race for the Patrick Division title.
🎧 Nassuamen Hockey Podcast Episode 44: Featuring Arthur Staple “On the last edition of Staple's NoSleepTillBelmont podcast, Jakob Chychrun was a talking point as a possible fit on the Islanders' blue line. After Isles Twitter mixed it up discussing if the Islanders should trade for him or not, Staple discusses further his thoughts on the possible scenario. PLUS, Staple offers insight on the Islanders' current state, their window moving forward, and the development of some young Isles players such as Kieffer Bellows and prospects Robin Salo, Aatu Raty, and Samuel Bolduc.”
🔗 Zdeno Chara's mentorship helping Noah Dobson become a star for the Islanders by Peter Schwartz, WFAN.com “Over the last few years, the Islanders have certainly done a good job building their defensive unit from within. It started with the emergence of Ryan Pulock as a force on both ends of the ice and has continued with Adam Pelech now being considered one of the best defensemen in the National Hockey League. But Pulock and Pelech now have some company when it comes to the present and the future look of the Islanders blue line, because Noah Dobson is growing up fast right before our eyes – and his pairing with future Hall of Famer Zdeno Chara is a big reason why.”
🔗Islanders expect to play Thursday — until they're told otherwise by Andrew Gross, Newsday. “As the Islanders have learned over and over this season, when it comes to the NHL schedule, nothing is set in stone until the game is actually played. So while the Islanders are planning and preparing to finally resume play against the COVID-19-impacted Devils on Thursday night at UBS Arena, there’s still some wariness until the puck drops.”
And we leave you with this…last week, the Islanders launched an ESports Gaming Team. “Isles GT” will be made up of six professional gamers, who will compete in one-vs-one and six-vs-six National Hockey League esports tournaments. Fans will be able to follow Isles GT on Twitter, Instagram, and Twitch.
To learn more about the endeavor and the world of professional gaming, check out this Q&A with Jordan Zelniker, the Islanders esports strategy lead on how it all works.
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