Good Morning, Islanders Country.
The Islanders were back at practice Tuesday morning in preparation for their contest with the Devils Thursday night in Newark. The game against New Jersey will be just the second divisional game for the Isles thus far, which will be a good test for Barry Trotz’s team in the loaded Metro (more on that below).
Meanwhile, there were more announcements for UBS Arena. A beloved establishment is making a triumphant return, a ‘diesel’ food option is debuting in NY, and signs are now literally pointing towards the Isles’ new home. Plus, the P and P boys — Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock — are seeing their stock rise towards possible selection for Team Canada this winter.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: Behind Ilya Sorokin’s three shutouts and .939 save percentage, the Islanders haven’t allowed many goals this early season. In fact, per Natural Stat Trick, the team has outperformed their expected goals differential by about 8.5 percent, but when they have allowed goals, they’ve come in bunches. Trotz spoke to the defensive lapses after Tuesday’s practice, acknowledging that it’s a concerning trend, but can be fixed.
IN BULK “When we do give them up, we give them up in bulk form. It's not one and done, it's two or three and we have to cut that out a little bit. A lot of times, it’s not necessarily [on] the group. There’s been more of an individual decision-making, one decision, two decisions, three decisions that are the wrong decision. So we gotta correct that on a few guys.” - Trotz on the goals against his team coming in bulk fashion
WHERE THINGS STAND: “I looked at the standings and we were at a .667 clip and were 7th in our division. If we play at a .667 clip for the entire season, we're probably in the playoffs. Visually it's disturbing but mentally you have to work your way through it.” - Trotz talking about his club’s standing in the division
🙎♂️🙎♂️ PAIRS IN A POD: As Ethan Sears of The New York Post points out, the team’s defensive chemistry has been altered by the shaking up of the defensive pairs. Ryan Pulock — paired with Adam Pelech all of last season — has played predominantly with Zdeno Chara after not working with him throughout training camp. While splitting their two best defensemen has spread depth, it has also contributed to a lack of cohesion.
FIVE MAN UNIT: “I think when you look at our defensive game, it’s kind of a five-man unit,” Pulock said. “I think right now, our defensive game has been good. I think guys are in the right spots. We have forwards tracking back, which allows us to stay up. I think there’s just good communication down low with the defensemen and forwards.”
TAKES TIME: “It takes a little bit to get comfortable,” Pulock said of playing opposite Chara. “Cause we never really did anything together in training camp or anything. But now I think we’re getting a good feel for each other and trying to keep building our game together and get better every day.”
🇨🇦 OH CANADA: Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock have found their way into the conversation as possible D-men to represent Canada at next year’s Winter Olympics. Per The Athletic’s Arthur Staple, Pelech and Pulock’s stock are rising to be one of the eight defenders selected according to a source with strong ties to Team Canada’s brass.
🇷🇺 LEO ON THE MOVE? Last week it was reported that Leo Komarov , who was sent down to the AHL on October 19th, was rehabbing a minor injury and would be reporting to Bridgeport shortly. Yet, early this morning, Islanders fans awoke to a report that Komarov was close to signing with SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL. More tomorrow as we learn more.
⏭ NEXT UP: Isles fans desperate for an up-close view of their favorite team can see them against the Devils tomorrow night.
📊 STANDINGS:
🍻 RETURN OF THE OFFSIDE: If you tweet it, they will come. After the pandemic closed the doors of the Islanders-themed Offside Tavern following the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, owner Nick Costa tweeted an appeal to the team in hopes of finding a new home in their new home. Well, a 1,000+ re-tweets and countless fan pleas later, it’s happening.
DREAM: The team and Costa announced that the establishment has a new home on the upper concourse of the building. “To say that was part of my dream, that's inception, a dream within a dream — never imagined Offside would end up inside the arena in which they play and for it to be true, pinch me, I have to wake up,” Costa said in a team press release.
MENU: The menu hasn't been released yet, but Costa is working on some new concoctions, as well as the corresponding puns (Tater Trotz!). The décor will be somewhere between the feel of the old haunt on 14th St. and the timeless, classic design of UBS Arena. Congrats to Nick and get pumped for OT at the OT!
⛽️ BIG DIESEL: The food options keep growing ahead of the opening of UBS Arena and this one reaches new heights. “Big Chicken,” a rapidly expanding franchise founded by NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal has been added to the mix. This will be the first location in the New York area for the fast-casual chicken restaurant and should provide some great eats. Shaq will pay a visit to UBS Arena on Thursday to make the formal announcement.
LOCAL FLAVOR: If that wasn’t cool enough, Blue Line Deli & Bagels collaborated with Big Chicken for a specialty sandwich to be sold at the arena.
👩🏫 SOUND SMART: As we’ve grown accustomed to, Mathew Barzal showed off his speed and stick-handling on Sunday night, navigating through helpless defenders and creating scoring chances. A SportsNet article, analyzing which NHL forwards are the best puck movers in the game, breaks down his play further.
SUCCESSFUL PLAYS: “Barzal jumps out with 17.7 carry-out attempts per 60 minutes. What’s even more impressive than just his ability to skate the puck out of his own end is the high rate of successful plays that follow those attempts; almost 86 percent of his carry-outs have been followed by a successful play.”
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER:
🎧 Nassuamen Hockey Podcast, Episode 85: Islanders Taking Shape, Semyon Varlamov Returns Nassaumen Hockey Podcast, The Hockey Podcast Network/Isles Fix: The UBS Arena announced a number of exciting partnerships including Offside Tavern and Shaq's Big Chicken. Now 10 games into the regular season, the guys of NHP discuss who has been the most impressive New York Islander thus far. The Islanders went 2-1-0 last week, and James and Jon break down their performance in that span. Semyon Varlamov returned, and despite Sunday's loss, the Islander veteran goaltender didn't show much rust. Ilya Sorokin continues to impress, is there reason to believe he's the Islanders number one goaltender? Trade rumors? This early? Sure, are the Islanders in on Travis Dermott of the Toronto Maple Leafs? Is Anatolii Golyshev a prime candidate to be traded? This and more in episode 85.
🔗 Long road trip has some positives for Islanders, by Laura Albanese, Newsday: “Casey Cizikas said the team was aware this stretch was going to be a tough challenge, but they also weren’t intimidated by it. The Islanders have seen little turnover with their player personnel, and more time together just helps solidify the team’s identity.”
🔗 Islanders: How worried should we be with Noah Dobson? by Michel Anderson, Eyes on Isles: “In his own zone, and specifically around the net, Dobson hasn’t been able to assert himself. He hasn’t been able to consistently box out defenders or keep them clear of the net. The 6’4″ nearly 200lbs defender shouldn’t have this issue, but strength still seems to be a concern for him.”
🔗 Barry Trotz expresses concern in Islanders giving up goals in ‘bulk’, by Joe Pantorno, amNewYork: “In the seven games in which they’ve been scored upon, the Islanders have yielded three goals or more five times and five goals or more three times. The most recent example came in Sunday night’s 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild when the Islanders’ defense gave up two goals in 2:01 in the third period, blowing a 2-1 lead in the process.”
🔗 Ten thoughts on the New York Islanders through 10 games, by Arthur Staple, The Athletic: “Here’s what we think: Lou Lamoriello and Trotz know this is not the six-man defense that will carry this team to a Stanley Cup. The landscape of capable left-handed defensemen available for trade will shift as the season goes on and more teams sink to the bottom. The Islanders can win with Chara in the lineup, as they’ve proved the past three weeks.”
And we leave you with this…a fantastic shot of the newly minted sign on the Cross Island Parkway with the exit leading to UBS Arena. We do not recommend trying to take a picture of it while driving.
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