Moving on Up

Isles winning streak hits six; pass Flyers and Rangers in standings

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Good Morning, Islanders Country.

The hottest team in hockey … YOUR …NEW … YORK …ISSSSSSLAAAANDERRRSSS (h/t Roger Luce).

I thought the Isles could go on a run. Why? Because almost every team does, and it was utterly ridiculous that they didn’t win three consecutive games in the first three months of the season. So then, they won three in a row on the road ahead of their seven-game homestand; I thought, ok, this is it; this is the run.

But then it wasn’t. They were shutout in the most boring game of the year vs. Ottawa. That was followed by a loss to the Flyers, where Patrick Roy questioned where the team’s hunger and urgency were throughout the game.

This team was going nowhere fast, but then, unexpectedly turned things around fast in an unforeseeable way. The Isles have won six straight games and finished January red-hot, with a 9-3-0 record, their best January since 1983.

So, where did this come from? Roy patiently preached this process throughout the entire season. Post-game after post-game, his message was the same: He believed his team was playing good hockey and deserved better. That overly optimistic approach now deserves partial credit for this improbable turnaround.

Confidence and self-belief are two of the most powerful tools a team can have. They believed for a long time, too long, that a winning streak was coming because their coach kept reinforcement that they were playing good hockey. Now that it’s here, those traits will need to stick and translate on the ice, with a difficult stretch of games waiting for them ahead of the February 4 Nations break.

Let’s dive in.

🏒 IN SHORT: Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves for his third shutout of the season, Marc Gatcomb scored his first NHL goal and the New York Islanders won their sixth straight game with a 3-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night. Simon Holmstrom and Kyle Palmieri also scored for the Islanders, who leapfrogged the Flyers and the idle New York Rangers in the Metropolitan Division standings and are three points out of a wild-card spot. The Flyers were blanked for the second consecutive game. Ivan Fedotov made 25 saves for Philadelphia. [ESPN]

KEY MOMENT(s):

🔷 Holmstrom gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 10:02 of the second period when he scored from the high slot. It was the forward's fourth goal in five game

🔶 Get That Puck! Gatcomb made it 2-0 at 17:08 with his first NHL goal in his seventh game. After the Flyers were caught on a line change, Kyle MacLean and Gatcomb skated in on a 2-on-0 that Gatcomb finished.

🔷 Palmieri scored his first goal in 15 games to make it 3-0 at 9:53 of the third period. He cut around Jamie Drysdale above the left face-off circle and beat Fedotov to the far side.

3 REACTIONS

❶ TEAM EFFORT: “Every line contributed,” Palmieri said. “It might not have showed up on the scoresheet, but I think everyone found a way to tilt the ice in our favor.”

❷ FIRST OUT OF THE WAY: “Every day here, you learn something new, and slowly it gets more and more comfortable, I guess. Just trying to take it day by day and do what I can out there,” said Gatcomv. “It's definitely great to get the first go out of the way, but just physicality and just trying to bring energy and do what I can out there.”

❸ KEEP IT ROLLING: “The way our team's playing, it's a good time coming into the rink and honestly, as cliche as it is, you don't really want to think about it, but it's definitely nice,” Palmieri said. “Right now, we're enjoying each other as a group and we want to keep this thing rolling.”

GAME IMPACT SCORE

⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders are off on Friday before they skate in back-to-back games in the Sunshine State against the Tampa Bay Lightning and defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.

📊 STANDINGS:

📰 NEWS: Forward Hudson Fasching (IR) was loaned to Bridgeport on conditioning. There were no lineup changes from the previous game. Maxim Tsyplakov wasted no time getting in his first NHL fight against Scott Laughton in the first period. The bout was the culmination of lingering tensions stemming from Tsyplakov’s hit on Ryan Poehling back on January 16.

Romy’s Empire

Alexander Romanov scored goals in back-to-back games, but it’s not his newfound goal-scoring prowess that everyone wants to talk about; it’s what the 25-year-old was known for when the Isles acquired him at the 2023 NHL Draft from the Montreal Canadiens - big hits and physical play.

“He’s going to be a physical presence out there,” head coach Patrick Roy said. “That’s who he is and this is when he plays his best is when he’s involved and when he’s gapping up and when he’s physical against the opponents.”

Romanov’s physical play has played a part in him missing games earlier this season. He has to pick and choose his spots, and it makes a big impact when he does that well. “He makes guys need to have their head on a swivel because he’s coming across the ice ready to hit,” said new partner Tony DeAngelo. “It’s been beneficial for me and, hopefully, he feels the same way about me.”

A Letter to To Your Future Self

The article in which this letter was first published came out in a 2018 article by Michael Russo in The Athletic. I hadn’t seen it until yesterday! It’s a note that 11-year-old Anders Lee wrote about his future; he was pretty spot on!

“I will go to and hope to get a scholarship at the University of Notre Dame and it would be for hockey, football or baseball. If this doesn’t work out I’ll be going to college for one thing to be a doctor. In 30 years, I’ll hope to have a wife and kids, be retired from the NHL and have 10 medals from the Olympics and 7 world championships for speedskating.”

📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Marc Gatcomb is the 402nd player in Isles history (including Billy Smith) to score a goal. Gatcomb joins Lorne Henning, Ron Smith (both in 72-73), Andrei Vasiliyev (1995), and Robin Salo (2022) as Isles who have scored their first NHL goals in Philadelphia; Jeff Norton and Bob Bassen both scored their 1st NHL goals vs. the Flyers at the Coliseum.

🎥 ISLES REWIND: On Jan. 31, 2013, Brad Boyes scored a PP goal with 2:59 left in overtime, giving the Islanders a 5-4 victory over the New Jersey Devils Thursday night at the Prudential Center. John Tavares tallied two goals and an assist, and Mark Streit and Keith Aucoin added one goal each for the Islanders.

🔗 The Islanders’ winning ways haven’t altered the plan for the season, but should they? by Ethan Sears, New York Post “After all, even before all the winning really kicked off, Lou Lamoriello said he had not yet thought about being a trade deadline seller. The general manager wanted to see if his team could climb back into the race, and that is just what they have done in winning eight of the past 10 to cut the playoff deficit to four points as of Wednesday morning.”

🔗 NY Islanders' AHL Affiliate Surrender Franchise Record Nine Goals Versus Lehigh Valley Phantoms by Joseph McAuliffe, Eyes on Isles “In their final home game before the all-star break, the Bridgeport Islanders were trounced 9-2 by the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Bridgeport’s home record dropped to a dreadful 2-16-0-2 in defeat. It’s just the fourth time the Bridgeport Islanders have allowed nine goals in franchise history. It’s the second time in a week that Bridgeport has surrendered seven+ goals in a game.”

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And we leave you with this ….The Story Behind the Islanders First Girls International Travel Team, playing their first international tournament this weekend.

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