Isles Fix Giveaway: This Friday, we’ll be selecting one PAID subscriber as thewinner of the “Schaefer Hockey: The Long Island Skating Co.” tee, inspired by the famous Schaefer Beer Logo.
Good Morning, Islanders Country.
It’s a Quick Fix featuring Joe Buono (@IslesFix) and former VP of Communications for the Islanders, Chris Botta (@ChrisBottaNHL).
On this episode, Chris and Joe dig into the Islanders’ latest trades and ask the big question: Did Mathieu Darche make the most of the market right now, and is there still another bold swing left to take? From roster construction to timing, they break down what worked, what didn’t, and what might still be coming.
They also talk about Patrick Roy coaching with real conviction—and why they firmly believe he’s a meaningful part of the Islanders’ future. Meanwhile, Matthew Schaefer keeps leaving them speechless with his off-ice performance and endlessly entertained by his media savvy, gleefully leaning into the Islanders–Rangers rivalry with subtle, knowing jabs after a season sweep of the Blueshirts.
To wrap it up, Chris and Joe zoom out to the bigger hockey picture with a conversation about Netflix’s Miracle: The Boys of ’80—and what that team, that moment, and that belief have meant to generations of hockey fans. A packed episode full of analysis, perspective, and a little rivalry-fueled fun.
Listen and enjoy!
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Ilya Sorokin was 2-4-1 (.868 and 3.75) in his first seven games this season; he is 16-9-1 (with a tied for NHL-best .929 save percentage, and a 2.08 goals-against average) and an NHL-leading six shutouts since then. Sorokin lost for the first time this season in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to Nashville (13-1-0) when facing more than 30 shots; he holds the club record for consecutive wins when facing more than 30 shots.
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On Feb. 2, 1995, the first-place Islanders defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 in overtime to improve to 4-2-1 on the early shortened season. Ray Ferraro scored his second of the game at 1:43, beating Flyers’ goaltender Dominic Roussel. Defenseman Scott LaChance scored his first two goals of the season, and Pierre Turgeon scored a highlight reel goal in the first. Jamie McLellan made 19 saves in the win.
📺 Hockey Night in New York: Up & Down: A step forward and a step back for the Islanders after topping the Rangers then falling to the Predators when it looked like they were going to coast to another victory in the early going. Justin Bourne of Sportsnet joins Sean & Arthur to talk about where this puts the Islanders and more as they try to close out the important stretch before the Olympic break.
🔗 Islanders still trying to fix broken power play by Andrew Gross, Newsday “The point here is not to mock the reporter (OK, this reporter’s) hockey knowledge, even if, certainly, Roy has more of it. It’s to point out that, too often lately, it’s been very tough to tell who’s playing where on the Islanders’ power-play units because they just haven’t been able to set up before the puck is heading back down the ice toward their zone.”
🔗 Bo Horvat still trying to shake off the rust after Islanders injury return: ‘Takes a bit of time’ by Ethan Sears, NY Post “Horvat’s career, though, has been remarkably healthy. The last time he missed even this many games in a season was 2017-18, a lifetime ago. So, comparatively speaking, coming back even from a relatively short absence is something he doesn’t have much experience with.”
And we leave you with this…it was all about the Benjamins Saturday night at UBS Arena. A multitude of the Founding Fathers were in attendance for the New York State Lottery.
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