Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Like many of you, I am off from work this week, which affords me the opportunity to watch some of the Netflix shows and documentaries that the algorithm has been recommending for weeks if not months.
Yesterday it was “Sly,” the engaging Sylvester Stallone documentary, as the star takes us on a journey of his life and career through charming and thought-provoking story-telling. Among the lessons his most famous character, Rocky Balboa, taught us was that ‘the world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows.’
No, it’s not, and neither is a hockey season.
The Isles took it on the chin Wednesday night, but it’s not about how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. Lane Lambert’s team was blindsided both by the Pittsburgh Penguins and by their demoralizing performance after collecting points in 17 of their previous 19 games.
Now, they need to respond.
For a team that had been finding ways to stay close in every game, they weren’t focused or dialed in as expected and found themselves watching instead of reacting. Frankly, toward the end of that second period, they looked like a team going through the motions and wishing away the rest of the game.
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You can say that every team will have ‘one of those games’ during an 82-game regular season, but to ensure you look back at that game as that and nothing else, they have to get two points tonight versus Washington. It’ll be that and not the embarrassing 7-0 loss on home ice that they will be most judged by.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders hit the ice for practice on Thursday at Northwell Health Ice Center but without Casey Cizikas and Semyon Varlamov, who were both absent. Cizikas was said to be sick, while Varlamov was taking a maintenance day after playing the third period and allowing a goal on Wednesday night.
The team was likely anxious to get back it after Wednesday’s blowout loss, and head coach Lane Lambert acknowledged a different vibe around practice.
"I saw some intensity," Lambert said. "I don't know if necessarily I saw frustration. I think there was focus there. And I would say probably that would be more for me the mood rather than frustration."
Lambert was optimistic about Cizikas playing tonight. We’ll wait to see whether Varlamov gets the start vs. the Caps or if Lambert turns to Ilya Sorokin, who is looking to shake off the six goals surrendered to the Pens.
News & Notes
◾️ You need two goalies to practice, so goaltender Ken Appleby was recalled from Bridgeport to take shots between the pipes at practice. The 28-year-old Appleby is 5-4-0 with Bridgeport this season, sporting a 2.86 GAA and an .898 SV%.
“It’s good for him,” Lambert said of Appleby getting practice time. “He sees our shooters, which is different for him than being down there and seeing the same shooters every day. Then he comes in, and he gets a little feel for the day after a game where we didn’t play very well.”
➡️ Despite having what is regarded as one of the best goalie tandems in the league, the depth at the position is relatively thin, leading to Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News (a goalie himself) wondering whether it’s something the organization should address.
◾️ Injured defenseman Scott Mayfield skated with the group for a second consecutive day but is not expected to play on Friday vs Washington. Defenseman Grant Hutton was returned (yet again!) on loan to Bridgeport.
The Mighty Quinn
St. Louis Blues prospect Jimmy Snuggerud had a first-period hat-trick, and five other American players had multi-point games as Team USA crushed Switzerland 11-3 in their World Junior Championship matchup Thursday.
Islanders prospect Quinn Finley, a 2022 third-round pick, scored the 10th goal on a beautiful one-timer. Finely is playing at the University of Wisconsin and has scored five goals and two assists in 18 games as a freshman.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders are at home tonight for the fourth matchup of the season against the Washington Capitals. The Isles are 1-1-1 in the first three games. Face-off from UBS Arena is at 7:30 PM EST.
📊 STANDINGS: The Flyers had an impressive 4-1 win in Vancouver, and Carolina topped Montreal to send the Isles into 4th place in the Metro.
LaFontaine Love
For WFAN.com and his Double Chili podcast, Peter Schwartz caught up with former Islander and Hockey Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine and spoke to him about the opening of The Park at UBS Arena.
“I couldn’t be more excited,” said LaFontaine. “To see the Islanders put in two rinks and be able to bring that to the fans, along with beer gardens and firepits and carnival games and food…I know the Islanders fans have missed the tailgating piece at the (Nassau) Coliseum, but I think this is a winter wonderland. This is like ten times anything I could ever have imagined or thought of.”
LaFontaine, who made the list of hockey’s 100 greatest players in 2018, joined the NHL Network for an interview before Wednesday’s game.
He has had a complicated relationship with the Islanders over the years, but things have been repaired and back where they should be thanks to an ownership group that has emphasized the importance of alumni.
While No. 16 hanging from the rafters is unlikely to ever happen, there should be, as Schwartz writes, a spot for LaFontaine in the Isles Hall of Fame.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, the Isles have played 13 overtime games. They are 3-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 1-3 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 2-5 in overtime and 1-2 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 1-1 in overtime and 0-1 in shootouts. The NHL record for overtime games is 30, played by Boston in 2003-04. The Isles are on pace to play 32 overtime games. The Isles have won 14 of the last 37 games decided by an overtime goal (since January 11, 2020).
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On Dec. 29, 2018, in their first game against their former captain John Tavares, the new face-of-the-franchise, Mathew Barzal, scored a natural hat trick in the second period as the New York Islanders beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0 at Scotiabank Arena.
Valtteri Filppula also added a goal for the Isles. Robin Lehner had 36 saves for his second shutout of the year. We all love Johnny," said Barzal, the Calder Trophy winner from the previous season. "He was such a big part of this team."We wanted to beat him, I'm sure he wanted to beat us."
🎧 Nassaumen Hockey Podcast: Inevitable - The New York Islanders Get Trapped “James and Jon dive into the last week of New York Islanders' hockey, including the recent 7-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Can the Islanders bounce back, or is this a sign of things to come?”
🔗 Robin Salo Has a Complicated Future with the Islanders by Mike Fink, The Hockey Writers “One of the few bright spots for the Bridgeport Islanders this season has been defenseman Robin Salo. He’s a reliable defenseman, and with four goals and six assists, he’s one of the best playmakers on the team from the point.”
🔗 Semyon Varlamov doesn't practice, exposing Islanders' potentially fatal flaw by Andrew Gross, Newsday “If either Sorokin or Varlamov were seriously hurt and missed significant time, it could very well keep the Islanders out of the playoffs because there is not another NHL-ready goalie in the organization. Minor-league journeyman Ken Appleby — who played three NHL games for the Devils in 2017-18 — was recalled from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport for Thursday’s practice.”
And we leave you with this…the sweater Bobby Nystrom wore when he scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in Game 6 of the 1980 Stanley Cup Final. It doesn’t hang in a museum but rather in the closet of Islanders fan Barry Rosen.
You can read more about his Isles jersey collection HERE
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