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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Should we call it Brarch? Ok, that doesn’t have the same ring to it as “Brocktober” but the month of March is deserving of a Brock Nelson nickname. The 30-year-old center is having a career month in a career season, having scored 13 goals in his last 14 games. To put that type of production into perspective, Anders Lee is the only other Islander with at least 13 goals this season!
The 13 goals since March 1st are the most in the NHL and his first-period goal on Tuesday was the 200th of his career, the 13th Islanders player to reach that mark.
Mat Barzal has the most star appeal and Adam Pelech was an all-star, but unequivocally, the Islanders’ best player this season has been Brock Nelson.
Coming up, Ilya stays back on Long Island, Bailey passes Bourne and Matty Marts plays his 800th. Plus, JG Pageau is ‘switch blade’ for Barry Trotz, “The Great One” scores his final goal, and BOA is celebrated on 3/29. But first, let’s recap last night’s 4-3 win in Columbus.
Let’s dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: Semyon Varlamov made 42 saves and Brock Nelson recorded his 200th career goal as the Islanders (29-27-9) held on to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena. Josh Bailey netted his 8th of the season while Anthony Beauvillier and Zach Parise each tallied their 11th as New York scored four consecutive goals after trailing 1-0. Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov had a pair of goals and Elvis Merzlikins made 25 saves in the loss for the Blue Jackets (32-30-5) who have dropped four straight (0-2-2). The Blue Jackets outshot the Islanders 16-3 in the third period. Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal had two assists each.
🔑 KEY MOMENT(s):
🔷 No. 200 in the NHL career of Brock Nelson tied the game at 1-1 as he continues to score at a remarkable clip. Another big night for the ‘Killer BLee’s.” Nelson has now scored in four straight games and 17 in the last 22. Game by game, 40 goals become more and more realistic a mark.
🔶 Josh Bailey created a turnover in the neutral zone, passed it to JG Pageau who drove the puck wide, turned, and found a late trailing Bailey who was able to control the puck and shoot in through Elvis Merzlikins for a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period.
🔷 Anthony Beauvillier scores his 11th of the season (3rd in last 23 games) on a nearly impossible angle to give the Islanders a 3-1 lead. The only thing harder to believe is that scoring from that angle was Nelson hitting the cross-bar.
3 REACTIONS
❶ PRETTY GREAT: "We've built on every game and the more and more you play with guys the more success you have," Anders Lee said. "The little plays, little things you talk about and the communication has been there for sure. The way Brock is playing hockey right now is pretty great, incredible and the way Beauvillier skates just gives us options and different looks."
❷ PRODUCTION: "Brock has stayed hot," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "We're getting production from the Pageau line, we're getting production from the Nelson line and even Barzal's line scored today. We need that, we do. The top two lines the last 10 games have been pretty good."
❸ WORLD-CLASS PASS: “That was just a world-class play by him," Zach Parise said of Noah Dobson's pass. "He's been doing a really good job of attacking and getting in the offense and looking for sticks on the backside… Offensively he's been doing great for us."
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders are back home at UBS Arena to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second half of their back-to-back. Face-off is scheduled for 7 PM (not 7:30!) in Elmont.
📊 STANDINGS:
📰 NEWS: As expected, Ilya Sorokin did not travel and Corey Schneider was the backup for Tuesday night’s game against the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. Sorokin took a pair of shots of his mask in the first two periods in Sunday’s game vs the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Barry Trotz did not specify whether or not Sorokin had been put in concussion protocol, but said he would be re-evaluated at Northwell Health Ice Center East Meadow on Wednesday. “He’s feeling better and we’ll see where he is tomorrow,” Trotz said. “If he’s feeling fine, we’ll probably get him on the ice.”
◾️ Grant Hutton played his second consecutive game with Sebastian Aho kept out of the lineup with a mild injury. “We’re very close to seeing him back in the regular rotation,” Trotz said of Aho.
◾️Kieffer Bellows was back on the fourth line playing with Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin as Ross Johnston was a healthy scratch.
For WFAN.com, Peter Schwartz writes that despite a down offensive season, the Islanders are lucky to have JG Pageau and the versatile center knows he has found a home on the Island.
For the most part, Pageau has avoided the ire of Isles fans. Pageau has registered an underwhelming 10 goals and 18 assists in 62 games this season and hasn’t scored since March 10th (11 games ago) against the Blue Jackets. This comes after scoring 24 and 26 goals in his previous two 82-game seasons.
Still, the fanbase and coaching staff knows that Pageau does a lot of little things each night that can help a team win that you won’t find on the score sheet.“He fills so many of those intangible areas that are necessary for you to win, said Barry Trotz before Tuesday’s game. “That’s how I evaluate him. Did he have impact in a game? He’s a little more broader in terms of impact or no impact.”
◾️DOES IT ALL: “He’s sort of a switchblade,” said Islanders head coach Barry Trotz. “You value what he does and you don’t necessarily look totally at production. What Pager does is he touches so many areas of the game that whatever you get offensively he checks so many boxes for you. He fills so many of those intangible areas that are necessary for you to win.”
◾️LUCKY TO BE HERE: “I’m an Islander, I’m proud to be and I play with my full heart every time I wear that jersey now,” said Pageau. “As a player, you get attached to the team and the fans and it grows on you. I’ve met some great teammates here and I’m lucky. They made it very easy for me to get attached and felt welcome for me and my wife. We’re very happy to be here.”
👏🏻 MATTY MILESTONE: Tuesday was the 668th game for Matt Martin as an Islander and the 800th of his NHL career. You don’t a fancy ceremony for your 800th, no painting or team signed jersey, but you do get your adorable daughter dressed in Islanders fisherman gear standing in front of an “800 NHL GAMES” chalk drawing. That’s even better.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per NHL PR, Josh Bailey (170-373—543 in 976 GP) put the Islanders up 2-1 and reached 543 points in his NHL career, passing Bob Bourne (238-304—542 in 814 GP) for sole possession of ninth place on the franchise’s all-time list. John Tonelli (206-338—544 in 594 GP) ranks eighth with 544.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: It’s not our style to highlight opposing team goals, let alone the New York Rangers, but we’ll make an exception for ‘The Great One.’ On March 29, 1999, Wayne Gretzky scored the 894th and final goal of his illustrious NHL career against the Islanders at Madison Square Garden. With the goal, Gretzky also passed Gordie Howe for the most professional hockey goals of all time (WHA and NHL, including playoffs) with 1,072.
On the ice for the Islanders, of course, was Zdeno Chara wearing No. 3.
🔗 Islanders Weekly: Lee & Nelson Raise Questions About Team’s Core by Jon Zella, The Hockey Writers “With the 2022 NHL trade deadline in the rearview mirror, the Islanders are now understandably looking ahead to the offseason, and — coming sooner than you think — the 2022-23 campaign. The team’s core is a mix of early-to-mid 20-something players, and those at, or just over, 30 years old.”
🔗 Islanders' Jean-Gabriel Pageau laments death of Senators owner Eugene Melnyk by Andrew Gross, Newsday “Jean-Gabriel Pageau spent nearly seven seasons with his hometown Ottawa Senators to begin his NHL career and once could not imagine playing elsewhere, just as now he finds it hard to picture playing for a team other than the Islanders.
And we leave you with this ….yesterday was March 29th also known as 329 Day and the Islanders organization recognized the loyal fans of the Blue and Orange Army for their unmatched support and non-stop chanting throughout the year.
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