After a six-game losing streak, the Islanders finally got off the schneid with a win over Minnesota to keep their very faint playoff hopes alive. Meanwhile, Anthony Duclair has taken a personal leave of absence after Patrick Roy shared some choice words regarding Duclair's effort after a lackluster loss to Tampa. And with Alexander Ovechkin coming to town to chase the NHL all-time goal scoring record, there's no shortage of drama on Long Island. Sammi Silber of THN joins Sean and Stefen to cover it all!
Good Morning, Islanders Country.
It's a Quick Fix featuring Joe Buono (@IslesFix) and former VP of Communications for the Islanders, Chris Botta (@ChrisBottaNHL).
It doesn’t happen often, but on Sunday, the hockey world was fixated on the New York Islanders. The game at UBS Arena served as the backdrop to history as Alexander Ovechkin surpassed Wayne Gretzky as the greatest goal scorer in NHL history, scoring his 895th goal in the second period of a 4-1 Isles win.
It’s one of the great accomplishments in sports history, and it happened on Long Island. Fans felt mixed going into it, questioning whether they wanted to see their team and goaltender surrender the record-breaker, but the way the day transpired, complete with a win over the league’s top team, was pretty perfect.
The fans who paid high prices got what they came to see, and more, including a 22-minute on-ice ceremony with a few light moments followed the record-breaking goal as the Islanders paid their respects to Ovechkin. We discussed the pomp and circumstance around the game, how the Islanders organization prepared for the event, the business around it, and more.
Listen and enjoy!
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Friday night’s 3-1 win over Minnesota was thewas the first game in NHL history between two goaltenders who had already been credited with a goal in that season; Ilya Sorokin was credited with a goal on March 1 vs. Nashville and Filip Gustavsson scored a goal on October 16 vs. St. Louis.
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On April 7, 2018, John Tavares scored his franchise-record 11th overtime goal in his final game as an Islander and Mathew Barzal tied Bryan Trottier's club record for assists as the Islanders rallied from a 3-1 deficit for a 4-3 overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings before a sellout crowd of 19,515 at Little Caesars Arena. Anders Lee became the first Islander since Jason Blake in 2006-07 to score 40 goals, and Ryan Pulock ended his rookie season with a power-play goal with 30 seconds to play in regulation.
🔗 As Alex Ovechkin makes history, all hockey fans at UBS Arena get to go home happy by Neil Best, Newsday “To Anders Lee, the day had a unique vibe from the start. “It felt similar to an outdoor game, where there’s that extra buzz in the building, something bigger than the game,” the Islanders captain said on Sunday after a 4-1 victory over the Capitals at UBS Arena – with the one Washington goal being Alex Ovechkin’s record 895th.”
🔗 Ilya Sorokin gives up Alex Ovechkin’s record-breaking goal but can still smile: ‘It was amazing’ by Arthur Staple Ilya Sorokin and Alex Ovechkin had a moment on the ice after the ceremony to celebrate goal No. 895. What could Ovechkin have said? “He asked about (a) stick,” Sorokin said with a laugh. “I said, no problem.”What does one ask in return when the greatest goal scorer in NHL history asks a favor?
And we leave you with this ….Ilya and Ovi after the game.
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