Good Morning, Islanders Country.
For those of you that work out regularly or think about working out regularly (there’s still time today!), you probably know the importance of a recovery day. It’s a day where you aren’t expected to test your muscle and break a sweat. Instead, you are encouraged to give your body a break and offer it a chance to rest in order to maximize performance for the long haul.
The Islanders haven’t had much chance to rest, mentally or physically in the second half of the season. The team’s condensed schedule has them playing 38 games in 69 days to end their season - an unheard-of pace. They are following up skating in a franchise-record 17 games in March with a franchise-record 16 games in April. Yesterday and today are the first consecutive days off since March 8th and 9th.
On the flip side, the Islanders have played their best hockey when playing their most hockey. But eventually, everybody hits the wall, and given the teams coming up on the schedule, the Islanders will need their rest and their legs to keep up.
Coming up, the MSG booth will sound different this weekend, and a look at Samuel Bolduc’s up and down development. Plus, Aatu Räty’s Finnish season is finished, the 2001-2002 team ends a long playoff drought and Frans Nielsen reflects on his Islanders’ career.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders are in the midst of enjoying two consecutive days off. The team did not practice yesterday as they traveled to Raleigh, NC to take on the Hurricanes on Friday night.
“We’ll just have to get as fresh as we can,” coach Barry Trotz said. “We’re playing pretty well every second day. Mostly every week it’s five games a week if you stack the weekends up. You don’t know when you’re going to hit a wall. We’re going to try to replenish the tanks as much as we can and then we’ll go at it again.”
🎙BOOTH CHANGE: With Butch Goring still recovering from shoulder surgery and Brendan Burke’s national television commitments, the Islanders’ MSG broadcasts will have a different look and sound the next two games.
◾️Rangers’ analyst Joe Micheletti will fill in for Goring on Friday night as he and Burke call the game against the Hurricanes from MSG studios in NYC.
◾️ For the game Saturday at St. Louis, Bridgeport Islanders announcer Alan Fuehring gets the call-up as Burke will be traveling for a Sunday TNT game. The color analyst for that game is TBD.
📈 BOLDUC DEVELOPMENT: Just two short pre-seasons ago, Islanders prospect defenseman Samuel Bolduc turned heads at training camp and was fairly close to at least making the taxi squad prior to the “bubble season” post-COVID. Since then, he’s had some highs and some lows, and as Kevin Kurz of The Athletic points out Bolduc is taking ‘strides in the right direction despite a trying second pro season.
A conversation with Bridgeport Islanders head coach, Brent Thompson, indicates that Bolduc is still trending in the right direction with his development despite needing a little more seasoning:
“He’s taken strides in the right direction,” Thompson said. “I still think there’s more development that needs to happen: reading rushes, pace in general. But if you look at the big picture, he’s done a really nice job as far as improving his defensive game, box-outs, physical presence. He’s using his body more to his advantage right now.”
Bolduc echoed his coach, saying that he’s improved at “boxing out and probably (finishing) my checks a little bit more. My breakouts in the (defensive) zone, I think, have been better. I think that’s more of a focus I’ve put on this year.”
Prior to the season, Corey Pronman, also of The Athletic, released his prospect rankings per team, and Bolduc wasn’t in the Islanders’ top five but was listed as “has a chance.”
“Bolduc logged a lot of minutes for Bridgeport this season. He’s a big defenseman who can shoot the puck and skates well for a 6-foot-4 guy. I debate whether he can move the puck well enough for the NHL level, but he’s on the bubble and I could buy him having a legit NHL career.”
The belief is that Bolduc still has a chance to develop into a full-time NHLer, and although sooner rather than later is better in relation to the Isles’ win-now window, the 21-year old D-man is focused on getting his game right at the AHL level, something that should translate well to when he finally gets the call-up.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders will continue their five-game road trip on Friday night in Raleigh as they visit the Carolina Hurricanes. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
📊 STANDINGS:
🇺🇸 COMING TO AMERICA: Aatu Räty’s season with Mikkelin Jukurit overseas as part of the Liiga has come to an end. Yesterday, Jukurit was eliminated from the playoffs. It has been stated that the plan for Räty and his development is for him to arrive in North America as soon as the season ends.
◾️ Räty signed a three-year entry-level contract prior to the 2021-22 season. He can cross the pond and play for the Bridgeport Islanders as they continue to make a push for the playoffs, or he can get the Ilya Sorokin treatment and hang around the NHL club, even if that means he doesn’t participate in any games.
◾️ Räty played 46 games over in Liiga, six for Oulun Kärpät where he only tallied one assist, and 41 games for Jukuirt where he tallied 13 goals, 40 points. The loan to Jukurit has proven Räty’s status as a legitimate top NHL prospect.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, the Isles killed both of their penalties against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday and have now killed 13 straight over their last five games and 52 of 58 in the last 20 games (89.8%). At home they are even better, having killed 33 of 35 since the beginning of February; their 94.3% home PK in that span is second in the NHL to Carolina's 94.4%.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: On April 6th, 2002, the Islanders finally clinched a playoff spot after a seven-year hiatus and one season after posting the worst record in the NHL. Oleg Kvasha, Eric Cairns, Kenny Jonsson, Jason Blake, and Michael Peca scored in a 5-4 win over the Washington Capitals, giving the Isles their first postseason berth since 1994. WATCH: Isles Clinch 2002 Playoff Berth
"We've done a good job putting aside a lot of bad traditions," then first-year Islanders coach Peter Laviolette said. "It was nice to kill two birds with one stone."
🎧 Nassaumen Hockey Podcast Episode 103: with James Nichols and Jon Zella “James and Jon cover news around the NHL, including a slick pass by Mike Smith to Connor McDavid, Jay Beagle beating up Troy Terry for being good, and the Hart Trophy Race. On the Island, they discuss Oliver Wahlstrom's hit on Jack Hughes, Cory Schneider's victory against the New Jersey Devils, Semyon Varlamov's amazing play as of late alongside Kyle Palmieri and J.G. Pageau, and the Islanders' playoff chances down the stretch. All of that and more in this week's episode of Nassaumen Hockey.”
🔗 3 Takeaways From Islanders’ Loss vs. Stars – 4/5/22, by Mike Fink, The Hockey Writers: “With the loss, the team boasts a 32-28-9 record and trails the Washington Capitals by 11 points for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Moreover, the recent loss continued to reveal some of the underlying weaknesses that have cost the Islanders all season long.”
And we leave you with this… Frans Nielsen was the guest on the latest edition of Talkin’ Isles. Nielsen talks to Greg and Cory about playing youth hockey in Denmark, the game that made Nielsen an Islanders fan before being drafted by the team, the origin of his backhand shootout move, the 2016 playoffs, and more!
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