Good Morning, Islanders Country.
For some of you, Ash Wednesday was the start of Lent, a season where you give up something you over-indulge in as a sign of sacrifice and a way to test your self-discipline. If you’re reading this, you likely over-indulge in the New York Islanders.
The thing is, to over-indulge is to do something in excess that brings enjoyment.
The 2021-22 season has brought us something - but it hasn’t necessarily been joy. We watch, we cheer, we groan, we get aggravated. Nevertheless, we keep coming back for more. So why not tune out for a bit, find other things to do with our time? Unlikely.
That’s because the disappointment, frustration, the bitterness - it’s inexplicably what we enjoy even in seasons where little joy is being offered in return. We wouldn’t feel these emotions if there wasn’t already deep love for the team and the community of friends and fans we belong to - even on Twitter!
So at least for the rest of the season, we’ll sacrifice doing other things and keep watching and showing up - it’s just something we can’t give up.
Coming up, the Isles believe they are making progress (even if they’re not in the standings) and Robin Salo can’t wait to return from Bridgeport. Plus, a look back at the “core of the four” celebration and how Sebastian Aho’s disallowed goal was particularly costly for one fan.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders arrived back home after a five-game road trip. After going 2-2-1 on the road, they were rewarded a day off yesterday. Tonight, the Islanders take on the Vancouver Canucks at UBS Arena.
➕ POSITIVE PROGRESS: As written by Andrew Gross of Newsday, the Islanders saw their latest five-game road trip as a successful one. They broke even at 2-2-1, however played the better part of the road trip looking like their old selves and staying in meaningful games.
"I think, for the most part, we did a lot of good things," Jean-Gabriel Pageau said. "We played with more energy, created more. We played hard. Now, it’s a matter of regrouping here, building on that, going home and finding a way to get on a streak at home."
Even without their star in Mathew Barzal, the Islanders were able to slow down the speedy Colorado Avalanche (arguably the NHL’s best team) and roll out a four-line attack, a strategy that the Islanders have utilized in the Barry Trotz era that took them to two straight conference finals.
"There’s lots of evidence of that," Trotz said. "I thought, really in the second period, it was line after line doing some really good things for us. I thought Pageau’s line [with Zach Parise and Kyle Palmieri] did really good and followed that by [Brock] Nelson and [Casey] Cizikas’ line. They all had some contribution in terms of grinding them down."
The Islanders know where they are in the standings and even if they can string together a considerable amount of wins from here on, the chances of making the playoffs remain slim. That doesn’t matter with this group, however, as the Islanders look to build on the momentum of their most recent road trip and hope to turn it into more success at the UBS Arena. Considering you’re likely to see most of this group return next season, building off this current momentum is a good thing.
😬 BAD-PORT: 23-year-old defenseman Robin Salo has all the motivation he needs to return to the NHL, the Islanders, and lovely Long Island. In an interview with Yle Sporten, Salo doubled down on that sentiment in his latest comments regarding his demotion to the Bridgeport Islanders:
“To be completely honest, Bridgeport is not a great place to live in,” said Salo. “It's probably a bit of a den. I would probably much rather live on Long Island. But there's nothing I can do about it. Now I play for Bridgeport and then I have to make the best of the situation.”
Salo was sent to Bridgeport to sharpen his skills at the AHL level. There’s a chance he could return to the NHL Islanders by season’s end. Further, many expect Salo to be a part of the top-6 on Long Island come next season so hopefully, for his sake, he won’t have to play in Bridgeport much longer.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders kick off a six-game homestand at UBS Arena as they host the Vancouver Canucks. Face-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
📊 STANDINGS:
🍁 Trade JT? On the latest Steve Dangle Podcast, Steve, Adam Wylde, and Jesse Blake discuss whether or not the Toronto Maple Leafs should trade former Islander captain, current Maple Leafs’ captain John Tavares.
The short answer to this question is “no!” However, after some discussion, the trio comes to the conclusion that Tavares’ contract “is designed” to be traded at some point in his Maple Leafs’ tenure, but just not now. The Maple Leafs will be under the microscope when they most likely make the playoffs due to their inability to make it past the first round of the playoffs in recent years. Tavares has scored 109 goals, 139 assists in 253 games through four seasons in Toronto.
📚 SOUND SMART: Does it feel like the Islanders are always giving up empty-net goals? Well, yes and no. Per Eric Hornick, the Islanders are tied with the Nashville Predators for the 8th most empty-net goals allowed this season at 12. The league leader is Detroit Red Wings with 20. Part of the reason why it may feel worse than the numbers show is that the Isles have scored just 5 empty netters themselves - only the Flyers with four have fewer.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: On March 2, 2008, the Islanders celebrated the “Core of the Four,” the 17 players who were part of all four Islanders’ Stanley Cup Teams.
"It takes 20 guys to win the Cup," said John Tonelli, whose overtime goal in Game 5 of the first round in 1982 kept the dynasty. "It's a great and special feeling to see these guys again."
You can watch the whole ceremony HERE.
🎧 Nassaumen Hockey Podcast Episode 98: “James Nichols and Jon Zella dive into the New York Islanders' recent west coast road trip, the play of Kyle Palmieri and Zach Parise, general manager Lou Lamoriello's quotes, and further discuss where the team goes from here as the trade deadline looms.”
LISTEN:
🔗 5 Takeaways From Islanders’ 5-Game Road Trip, by Mike Fink, The Hockey Writers: “…with the Islanders continuing to play well in all three zones, there’s a lot of reason to remain optimistic about the schedule ahead, with the team more than capable of climbing the standings in both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference.”
🔗 Despite only breaking even on road trip, Islanders taking positives into homestand, by Andrew Gross, Newsday: “It’s a small consolation, but they do come back to UBS Arena for a six-game homestand believing they’ve refound some elements that have been missing for most of this disappointing season.”
And we leave you with this… the Islanders may have suffered a loss because of a controversial no-goal call on Sebastian Aho, but no one might have suffered worse than this fan.
@TheIslandSheik played a prop bet that would have cashed out at $5,010 after betting just $10. The green was SO CLOSE, yet ripped away from him. Thanks a lot, Toronto.
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