Top o' the mornin' to ya, Islanders Country.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘️
Luck, the puck variety, hasn’t been on the side of the Isles this season.
Whether you think there is a metaphysical explanation behind luck, or that it’s an entirely psychological phenomenon, everybody likes to feel lucky. When you feel lucky, you are confident and optimistic, believing good things will come your way.
They also say the harder you work, the luckier you get, but sometimes you can work damn hard and luck won’t find you, but bad luck does. That’s been the story of this Islanders season, rather than luck, there’s been a sense of impending dread hovering over the team. They can’t help but feel unlucky. That isn’t to say the Isles haven’t contributed to their bad luck - they have, but perhaps tonight lady puck luck will side with the Nassaumen against their rival.
Coming up, we hope it’s Ilya vs Igor at the Garden tonight and WFAN.com catches up with William Dufour. Plus, Kevin Kurz answers your trade proposals and Anders Lee tries to become the first Islander since 2011 (Michael Grabner) to score in six straight games.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders were given a full day off on Wednesday to travel back to Long Island for some rest in preparation for their game tonight at Madison Square Garden. On the schedule, this is the second time the Islanders and Rangers have played this season, but the Blueshirts 4-1 win was against the ‘Replacelanders,’ a lineup that included AHL call-ups Andy Andreoff, Richard Panik, Otto Koivula, and defensemen Robin Salo, Grant Hutton, Paul LaDue and Thomas Hickey with seven regulars in COVID-19 protocol.
🥅 FRIENDLY FOES: We’re expecting Ilya Sorokin and Igor Shesterkin to be in net tonight at MSG. If it happens, it won’t be the first time they’ve squared off in the NHL. Sorokin took the first game of highly touted Russian netminders as the Isles beat the Rangers 3-2 in overtime on April 21, 2021.
Things are drastically different now, however, as the Islanders and Rangers have switched places in the standings. The Isles are on the outside looking in while the Rangers appear headed to the playoffs and try to win the division.
By far, the biggest reason for the success the Rangers have seen this season has been the MVP-like play from Shesterkin. His .938 SV% and 2.07 GAA have earned him not only the whispers of the Vezina Trophy winner but also the belief that he can win the Hart Trophy as well.
Sorokin is finding success this season too despite the unsuccessful season the Islanders have put together, and although it’s not as impressive as Shesterkins, considering the Islanders play this season, it’s still mighty good. Sorokin boasts a .925 SV% and 2.33 GAA this season and has claimed the Isles net as their #1 goaltender. Best friends off the ice, the two goaltenders have quite the history together and the story continues to write itself. Now the starting goaltender for rival clubs, New York hockey will be blessed with many goaltending duels for the foreseeable future.
🇨🇦 DOMINANT DUFOUR: Peter Schwartz of WFAN caught up with Isles standout prospect, William Dufour, in his latest article on WFAN.com. In 45 games this season, Dufour has an eye-popping 42 goals and 40 assists for the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL.
“It’s (been) a great season for me and for the team,” said Dufour. “Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been working hard, and recently our team has had a lot of success so that’s very nice for us.”
“I think I have more of an offensive role this year,” said Dufour. “My coach [Gordie Dwyer] wants me to be an offensive threat every shift I’m playing, so that’s the big difference between this year and last year. To be an offensive player like that, it’s helped me a lot for sure.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders battle their cross-town rival New York Rangers tonight at Madison Square Garden before another back-to-back this weekend.
📊 STANDINGS:
🔁 TRADE PROPOSALS: Who doesn’t enjoy fan-submitted trade proposals? It was always my favorite part of NY's late-night sports talk. As there’s absolutely no chance to hear Isles trade talk on terrestrial radio, Kevin Kurz in The Athletic spent time mulling over your trade proposals - and some were pretty good.
This one submitted by Justin S. was interesting. The Islanders would send Semyon Varlamov to the Maple Leafs for Petr Mrazek and a 2022 first-round pick. On one hand, a first-rounder and a back-up for next season is good value, but for me, the attractiveness of moving Varlamov is to move his salary for next season, more so than a first-round pick if it comes with a pricey back-up. The Islanders’ coaching staff and overall team structure have proven previously with both Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss that they can get strong goaltending, and not at $5M AAV.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Anders Lee is the first Islander to score in five straight games since Derick Brassard did so October 24 - November 2, 2019 (Lee assisted on an empty-net goal in that streak). It is also the longest streak of Lee's career. Michael Grabner (2011) is the only Islander to score in six straight games in the last 26 years; Lee will try to match that tonight at Madison Square Garden.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: Tributes poured in throughout the day for former Islander Jean Potvin on Wednesday. Back on March 31, 1988, Jean sat down with his old teammate Eddie Westfall on the SportsChannel broadcast before his brother Denis’ last regular-season home game.
🔗 New York Islanders: Three Steps Forward, One Step Back, Back to Reality? By Stefen Rosner, NYIHockeyNow: “The Islanders win streak saw the Islanders play the way many envisioned they would play this season. But keep in mind, they beat three teams not currently in a playoff spot.”
🔗 With playoffs unlikely, Isles can use rest of season to look long-term by Andrew Gross, Newsday “The personnel may change, both by Monday’s NHL trade deadline and also in the offseason, but many of the team’s core are signed long-term so there will be some carryover and continuity for the 2022-23 season.”
And we leave you with this… New York Jets offensive lineman, Dan Feeney, solidified himself as an Islanders legend when he rallied the Isles crowd last season chugging a beer, smashing the can in his skull, and waiving that sweet flow on the big screen. Yesterday, the NFL Jets rewarded Feeney with a one-year contract extension. We hope to see that sweet lettuce and mullet back in the stands at UBS Arena soon.
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