Good Morning, Islanders Country.
A night after being thoroughly outplayed in LA, the Islanders were without their best player in Anaheim but came together for a bounce-back performance against the Ducks, led by Ilya Sorokin - and Ross Johnston. It was a “next man up” mentality absent Mathew Barzal and Johnston, playing in his 100th NHL game, filled the unlikely role of playmaker with two primary assists and the first multi-point of his career.
Being able to get up 1-0 and then 2-0 allowed the Isles to fall into the type of game they are built to play and Sorokin was rock solid in net, earning his fifth shutout of the season. Sorokin now has eight shutouts in 57 career games, the 24th goalie in NHL history to do, and the first since Martin Jones (2014-2016). The only Islander goaltender was Glenn ‘Chico’ Resch who had nine shutouts in his first 57 games.
Coming up, the healthy scratches return, Noah Dobson keeps scoring, and a big night for the birthday boy. Plus, a Cal Clutterbuck to Colorado rumor, an SNL cameo of sorts, and when Garth Snow went for it and got ‘Captain Canada.’ But first, a recap of last night’s 4-0 win in southern California.
Let’s dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: Ilya Sorokin made 34 saves for his fifth shutout of the season (second-most in the NHL) for the Islanders (20-21-8) in a 4-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Sunday. Casey Cizikas (1 goal,1 assist) and Ross Johnston (2 assists) each had multi-point efforts. Noah Dobson, Kieffer Bellows, and Andy Greene each scored a goal. Anthony Stolarz (8-6-1) surrendered four goals on 22 shots for the Ducks (25-21-9). It was the Isles’ first win in California since Feb. 18, 2018.
🔑 KEY MOMENT(s):
🔷 Dobson opened up the scoring at 13:41 of the period. Kyle Palmieri and JG Pageau got to work on the forecheck and moved the puck to the right point where Dobson’s one-timer bounced past Stolarze for the 1-0 lead. Dobson now has nine goals since Dec 5, more on where that compares to other defensemen in Sound Smart.
🔶 On his 31st birthday, Cizikas receives a beautiful no-look pass from Johnston for the easy tap-in to make it a 2-0 game. Cizikas is the first Islander to score on his birthday since Clutterbuck (11/18/14). He later became the first birthday boy to have a goal and an assist for the Isles since Roman Hamrlik (4/12/2002).
🔷 Johnston brought his playmaking mitts last night, feeding Greene scoring top shelf, short side over Stolarz.
🔶 Bellows makes a beautiful play to himself late in the third period, chipping the puck to himself off the boards for a breakaway beating Stolarz top-shelf, glove-side. For Bellows, it was his first goal since December 30th, but he has been contributing with four points in the last five games. Sebastian Aho picked up a secondary assist on the goal and now has assists in five straight games.
3 REACTIONS
❶ JUST PLAY: “We just said, you know what, let’s just play, let’s just play the game,” said Barry Trotz. “We sometimes, we try to force things that aren’t there, trying to be too fine. Let’s just play the game right. And I think that the leadership group, they get all the credit. They stepped up. Every one of the veteran guys stepped up. Obviously, we’re missing some good people in Chara and Barzal and it’s a group effort. Our strength is in the group. It’s not an individual’s and that was on display today.”
❷ SHORT-TERM MEMORY: “Obviously a tough one (Saturday night) but you know, this team moved past that quickly,” said Kieffer Bellows. “And you know, we wanted to have a rebound game tonight and you know, we had guys step up obviously like (Greene) and (Johnston). That’s a big win for us. Sorokin played really well.”
❸ COMEBACK KIDS: “You know, you never want to sit out games and not be out there but it happens,” said Andy Greene. “Those are the days that you have to put the work in and make sure when you get back in there that you’re ready. I think Johnston and I were skating hard to prepare for this and you know, it’s good to get rewarded tonight.”
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders wrap up their five-game road trip in Denver against old friend Devon Toews and the league-best Avalanche on Tuesday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.
📊 STANDINGS:
📰 NEWS: The Islanders were without Mathew Barzal (lower-body) and Zdeno Chara (upper-body) on Sunday after both left Saturday night's 5-2 loss against the Los Angeles Kings with injuries. Sunday marked the first time Barzal missed a game due to injury since becoming a regular with the team in 2017. Both players are considered day to day without a timetable given for their return. Matt Martin was a healthy scratch as Ross Johnston took his spot on the fourth line and Andy Greene played his first game since Feb 12.
Barzal appeared to twist his knee when battling along the boards with the Kings’ Phillip Danault at 11:49 of the second period. He returned to the ice for a shift a few minutes later before heading to the dressing room.
Barzal’s absence meant the return of Josh Bailey to the lineup. Bailey was pushed into playing center after being a healthy scratch the previous two games. Brock Nelson and JG Pageau are expected to log additional minutes as long as the Islanders’ playmaker is out of the lineup, but the whole team will need to step up.
"It falls on every other player on our team, not just those two," Barry Trotz said before the game. "Pageau, he can move up and Zach can play center, or Josh Bailey can play center. We’ve done that in the past. Both of those guys will be up for the task, they’re total team guys."
🏔 CAL TO COLORADO? After Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic visited UBS Arena when his team wasn’t even in town, the rumors started to circulate that he might be checking out the Islanders Cal Clutterbuck.
Adrien Dater of Colorado Hockey Now rode on the coattails of the rumor on Sunday explaining why if Sakic was indeed fixated on Clutterbuck, why it would make sense for the Avalanche:
“Clutterbuck has some pretty good playoff experience, and brings that “veteran presence”, etc. etc. I asked a couple people whose opinions I value, who see Clutterbuck and the Islanders play a lot, and the scouting report I got is that Clutterbuck still tries to hit everything that moves and is a smart PK guy who still plays with a lot of, uh, cojones.”
“We have just a little over three weeks to go ’til the NHL trade deadline. There’s a lot of debate about the Avs’ bottom two lines, whether they’re good enough for a long playoff run. Nicolas Aube-Kubel was a healthy scratch Friday night. Tyson Jost was a healthy scratch last night. Darren Helm, Kurtis MacDermid, Logan O’Connor, Alex Newhook, J.T. Compher – these are the current bottom-six guys. Are they good enough? Or, does Sakic need to add another piece in there, make a change, with a guy like Clutterbuck?”
It certainly sounds like the organization isn’t exactly pleased with their personnel in the bottom six of the Avalanche lineup and neither is Dater. Clutterbuck continues to draw interest because of his innate ability to bring a physical presence on the ice, penalty-killing prowess, and the veteran leadership he provides due to his experience in the playoffs.
🤣 S-N-LOL: The rink wasn’t the only place to watch the Islanders on Saturday night and unlike the game, it was ok to laugh. Aidy Bryant of Saturday Night Live sported an Islanders-themed beer helmet in a comedy skit entitled “Subway Churro: The Musical”.
You can watch the full-skit HERE.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in “The Skinny,” all nine of Noah Dobson's nine goals have been scored since December 5th. Dobson leads all NHL defensemen over that span; Cale Makar has eight and Roman Josi has seven during that span. Dobson also logged a team-high 21:30 time in the game as his ascent continues.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: On February 27, 2007, the Islanders acquired forward Ryan Smyth from the Edmonton Oilers at the NHL trade deadline. In exchange, the Islanders gave up forwards Robert Nilsson and Ryan O'Marra and a first-round pick in the 2007 draft. "Ryan Smyth is a premier NHL player," Islanders general manager Garth Snow said. "The New York Islanders are proud to have Ryan become a member of our organization."
Playing in 18 games with the Islanders to close out the 2006–07 season, Smyth posted 15 points (5 goals and 10 assists) as the Islanders made the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. New York was defeated in the first round by the top-seeded Buffalo Sabres in five games.
After the season, despite the Islanders’ best efforts, Smyth signed a five-year, $31.2 million contract with the Colorado Avalanche in the summer. "Ryan decided it was best for him and his family to sign with Colorado," Snow said. "The Avalanche are very fortunate to have him and we wish Ryan and his family the best. I said when I made the trade to acquire Ryan from Edmonton that it's a deal I'd do over and over again.
🔗 Islanders Lose Mathew Barzal, Zdeno Chara To Injuries Against Kings, by Stefen Rosner, NYIHockeyNow: “In the second period against the Los Angeles Kings, the New York Islanders lost two players to injuries in top-line centerman Mathew Barzal and defenseman Zdeno Chara.”
🔗 Zdeno Chara receiving long overdue recognition among NHL’s greats, by Larry Brooks, NYPost: “The recognition flowing Zdeno Chara’s way in the wake of the 44-year-old breaking Chris Chelios’ record for NHL games played by a defenseman, when he hit the 1,652 mark Thursday at San Jose, is more than merited, for it has long been my contention that Big Z has been one of the more overlooked forces of his time.”
And we leave you with this …. it was William Du-FOUR day as the Islanders’ prospect, playing for the Saint John Sea Dogs, scored four goals as his team defeated the Moncton Wildcats 8-1. Dufour leads the QMJHL with 35 goals and is second with 67pts.
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