Point Taken
Isles earn one in Boston; fall in shootout 4-3 to Bruins
Good Morning, Islanders Country.
We should feel good about last night’s game. Right? We should be satisfied with a hard-earned point against a team that hasn’t lost in regulation at home all season. But at the same time, two points were there to be had if the team avoided some too-common mistakes and some bad luck.
Coming off the 3-0 loss to Carolina, they came out strong against a team coming back from the west coast and were the better team for much of the first period, but a power-play goal and an unlucky deflection had them down 2-0. But to their credit, they kept pushing forward and climbed back into the game after falling down 2-0. But after tying the game, they allowed a short-handed goal that required another third-period comeback.
The Isles didn’t have the better of play in overtime but had chances and the early advantage in the shootout. They just couldn’t do enough for that second point. A little bit of woulda, coulda, shoulda, but overall, a point against the league’s best team is a solid way to start a road trip.
Coming up, Varly gets the nod as Beau and Palms remain out of the lineup. Plus, Gary Bettman talks salary cap and digital ads, Shannon Hogan makes an announcement, and more Fisherman logo novelty gifts.
Let’s dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: The Islanders started their five-game road trip by earning a point in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Tuesday. Josh Bailey and Noah Dobson each had a goal and assist for the Isles (17-12-1), who got 30 saves from Semyon Varlamov. Casey Cizikas scored a third-period goal to tie the game, and Brock Nelson had two assists. For the Bruins, Jake DeBrusk scored twice, added an assist, and scored in the shootout. Linus Ullmark made 23 saves for Boston (23-4-1) in the win as they improved to 6-1-1 in their last eight games.
KEY MOMENT(s):
🔻 After Noah Dobson’s ninth goal of the season tied the game at 2-2, the Islanders earned a power play. It didn’t end well. The unit was out of sync for the entire two minutes, and the Bruins created multiple chances leading to Derek Forbort putting the Bruins back in front 3-2 with a short-handed goal at 18:28.
🔹 Casey Cizikas scored his second goal in three games to tie the game in the third. It was their 41st third-period goal for the Isles, tied with Edmonton for second in the league. Only Boston, with 42, has more.
🔻 Debrusk and Mathew Barzal had each scored going into the third round. David Pastrnak made a nifty move to beat Varlamov, and Bailey’s shot sailed high on Ullmark as Boston earned the second point.
3 REACTIONS
❶ HUGE POINT: “It was like a playoff game. It's a huge point to get," Mathew Barzal said following the shootout loss. "Getting a point in Boston is a tough one. Not a lot of teams come in here and get a point. It could be a big point late in the season."
❷ KEPT WITH IT: "We had a good start, and ending up down two was unfortunate, but we weren't doing anything wrong, said Noah Dobson. “We were playing well, he said keep going to our game and we'd get it back."
❸ PP TROUBLES: "We had troubles with the entries," Lane Lambert said of the power play. "They ended up getting a rush, but it's not an outnumbered rush, it's an even man rush. We miss an assignment that we shouldn't miss and it's in the back of our net."
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders will be next on the ice on Friday, Dec. 16, on campus at Arizona State's Mullett Arena as they take on the Arizona Coyotes. Face-off is scheduled for 9:30 PM ET. Arizona shut out the Isles 2-0 in their earlier meeting.
📊 STANDINGS:
📰 NEWS: Both Kyle Palmieri and Anthony Beauvillier skated with the team on Tuesday morning, but neither came out for pre-game warmups as they were held out of the lineup for the game against the Bruins at TD Garden. For Palmieri, it’s the tenth straight game he has missed, while Beauvillier has missed the last two.
◾️ Ross Johnston was the lone healthy scratch as Hudson Fasching played in his fourth game since being recalled from AHL Bridgeport.
◾️ Lane Lambert elected to go with Semyon Valarmov against the league’s best team over Ilya Sorokin. Entering Tuesday, Varlamov had a 2.42 GAA and .920 save % over his last five starts, winning four of them.“You need both goalies, and that’s the luxury we have,” Lambert said. “It’s such a long season. It’s a demanding season. Them both playing is going to help us in the long run.”
As the NHL’s Board of Governors meeting wrapped up on Tuesday, commissioner Gary Bettman addressed the media to cover a wide variety of league topics. On Monday, Bettman celebrated his 30th anniversary as the league’s commissioner.
📈 UP A BIT: Per Bettman, the NHL's salary cap is currently projected to rise by just $1 million - to $83.5 million in 2023-24. Bettman said that number is based on current revenue projections, noting players still owe escrow. The salary cap also increased by $1 million - to $82.5 million - for the 2022-23 season after sitting at $81.5 million in each of the previous two years.
But perhaps the statement that generated the most buzz on social media was Bettman’s proclamation that the new digital boards were not only a “non-issue” but that the league’s polling shows fans are in favor of it. Sure, Gary, sure.
👶 ONE ON THE WAY: We learned that MSG Network’s Shannon Hogan is expecting her second child on Tuesday. AJ Mleczko (who has four!) passed along congratulations during the broadcast, and Shannon shared the news on social media with a Santa pick of her daughter, who will now take on big sis duties.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per NHL PR, Noah Dobson recorded the 17th career multi-point game and tied Tomas Jonsson (17 GP) for the third most by an Islanders defenseman before the age of 23. Dobson now only trails Denis Potvin (61 GP) and Bryan Berard (24 GP). Dobson scored his 26th career goal in the second.
🗓 THIS DATE IN ISLANDERS HISTORY: On December 14, 1993, Ron Hextall stopped 25 of 26 shots as the Isles defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-1 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. David Volek opened up the scoring in the first with a great move, out-maneuvering Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Stevens before beating Devils goaltender Chris Terreri for a 1-0 lead. Ray Ferraro broke a 1-1 tie in the second, and Darius Kasparaitis scored his first of the season in the third period for a two-goal lead. Brad Dalgarno added an empty netter.
🔗 NY Islanders weekly prospect report AHL edition: Week of 12/5-12/11 by Michael Stahurski, Eyes on Isles “In a season where the Bridgeport Islanders have been coasting through the competition, last week was a genuine test of this team's mettle as they faced off against a pair of the top teams in the AHL.”
🔗 Semyon Varlamov's fine play earns goalie start against Bruins by Andrew Gross, Newsday “Barry Trotz would often joke over the previous two seasons there would be a Russian goalie in net when asked to name his starter.”
And we leave you with this ….more Fisherman logo products! This time, a Limited Edition Anders Lee bobblehead courtesy of FOCO.
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.....NOTHING was good about that shortie; just a TOTAL breakdown ALL around - THOUGHT Varly HAD Pasternak in the SO.....am even MORE certain from Ander's remark that Adam's LUCKY he WASN'T crippled by AGAIN, a VICIOUS hit that SHOULD'VE cost Bortuzzo BIG-time......lastly, DON'T want to JINX either Noah OR Brock but, LOOKING like (.....NO completing my thoughts, Joe! LOL).