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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
There should be some juice in the building tonight. Some of you love these games, the buzz, the energy, and even the … anxiety! Others, you watch with a never-ending pit in your stomach with every Rangers scoring chance. Either way, these games are always a bit different, and even more so when the Islanders and Rangers are battling for playoff position.
But if you’re a lover of these rivalry games, you’ll need to savor this one as it’s the last time the two teams are scheduled to play during the 2022-23 season, thanks to an NHL schedule that minimizes (for now) intra-division games.
"It's something special. You feel it when you step on the ice even in warm ups. Both teams going at it and there's a good respect level to there, so it's good fun hockey." - Oliver Wahlstrom
If you’re an Islanders fan making the trip to the city on the LIRR, you’ve experienced happy train rides back to Long Island in recent years. The Isles have won five straight games at MSG and are 18-5-0 in their last 23 trips to Broadway.
A big reason for the success is that Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier have been their best against the Blueshirts. Barzal has 31 points (8G, 23A), and Beau has collected 23 (13G, 10A) in 26 career games against the Blueshirts.
The team feels it’s played solid during the travel portion of their road trip. The four points could’ve been easily six if they were more proficient in the toss-up, that is, the shootout. The Isles feel they’re building toward a better game, and for that to continue, they’ll need to continue their good play in a building they’ve played well in recent years.
Coming up, Clutterbuck lands on IR again, and three players that never left are back on the roster. Plus, there’s another Islanders goalie tandem that deserves credit, a model snapshot of the Isles, and Ledecky gets some radio love.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: Cal Clutterbuck was been placed on IR (retroactive to 12/16/22) on Wednesday. In paper moves, Hudson Fasching and Simon Holmstrom were recalled from loan. Cory Schneider was emergency recalled from Bridgeport.
◾️As for the remaining injured players, Kyle Palmieri has resumed skating and appears to be inching closer to a return. Semyon Varlamov and Adam Pelech have not resumed on-ice activities.
◾️ The start time for the Isles-Sabres game scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 19, will now begin at 7:30 p.m. ET (compared to 7:00 p.m. ET) as the Sabres will induct former goaltender Ryan Miller into the Sabres Hall of Fame and retire his number 30 to the KeyBank Center rafters.
🥅 ‘TENDING BRIDGEPORT: The varsity Islanders aren’t the only Islanders team with an excellent goaltending tandem.
The Bridgeport Islanders are 14-8-5 in 2022-23 thus far, and that’s largely due to how good both Cory Schneider and Jakub Skarek have been. In her latest with NHL.com, Gabriela Carroll digs into the numbers:
Schneider is among the league leaders so far this season, posting a 10-3-2 record with a .921 save percentage, seventh-best in the AHL, and 2.51 GAA, tied for seventh-best in the AHL. Only two goalies have more wins. Skarek has points in seven of his 12 starts this season (4-5-3) and set a new career high with 43 saves against Providence last month.
Schneider and Skarek have worked so well for the B-Isles keeping each other focused and pushing each other to get better every night. Bridgeport head coach, Brent Thompson, recognizes the work ethic and feels confident with his crease no matter who is manning the net.
"It's healthy competition. Cory and Jakub are really pushing each other with their practice habits and the way they go about their business. For me, you have to have two goalies capable of getting you wins, and we have that."
📊 CHARTS & GRAPHS: Dom Luszczyszyn is the go-to guy at The Athletic when it comes to hockey analytics. He’s updated his 2022-23 NHL roster depth charts for each of the 32 NHL teams. Here’s how the scoring works:“A quick snapshot of how each team’s roster is currently rated according to GSVA, with grades for each position, line and pairing relative to the rest of the league. Each team’s depth chart will be updated weekly and will reflect each team’s current healthy roster.”
According to Dom’s model, which has been harsh on the Isles throughout the years, the team is projected to finish fifth in the Metropolitan Division with 90(ish) points which would likely leave them out of playoff position.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders play the first of a back-to-back as they take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Face-off is 7:00 PM ET.
📊 STANDINGS: The New Jersey Devils snapped their six-game losing streak last night with a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers.
❤️ LOVE AFFAIR: In lieu of the New York Mets going out and making another big splash in the free agent market by signing Carlos Correa (👋 hi MetsFix), Gregg Giannotti, co-host of Boomer and Gio on WFAN Sports Radio, started the conversation about sports franchise owners in New York.
Regarding Jon Ledecky, Giannotti gave a glowing review: “He’s beloved. He might be the guy loved more than any other one. More than Steve Cohen. He runs around the building and thanks everyone for being an Islanders fan. He’s tremendous.”
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, in Colorado, Brock Nelson was held pointless for the first time in the last nine road games; no Islander has had a longer such streak since Alexei Yashin (10 games) in 2002
🗓 THIS DATE IN ISLANDERS HISTORY: On December 22, 2007, Richard Park scored his only career (regular season) overtime goal at the 3:43 mark as the Isles defeated the Washington Capitals 3-2 at the Nassau Coliseum.
"This gives us a great feeling going into the holiday. It will make the food and everything taste better," said Park, who scored his sixth goal of the season. "I think Richard Park's been our most underrated player the past couple of years," said head coach Ted Nolan. "He does everything." Also of note, Miroslav Satan opened the scoring with his 666th career point 😈
🔗 EXCLUSIVE: Islanders Prospect Jimmy Lambert on Uncle Lane, First Pro Season, by Joshua Linsenberg, NYIHockeyNow: “Jimmy Lambert, nephew of New York Islanders head coach Lane Lambert, is in his first professional season with the Islanders ECHL affiliate, the Worcester Railers, after a four-year stint at the University of Michigan. He was undrafted and signed an Amateur Tryout Agreement (ATO) before signing his first AHL contract.”
🔗 Road trip gave Islanders some confidence entering matchup with Rangers, by Denis P. Gorman, Newsday: “It’s a veteran group,” Lee said. “It’s a long season. You can’t dwell on a loss for too long; can’t let it get in your way. And I think our group is [really] good about rebounding and knowing and understanding the importance of the next night and getting right back at it.”
And we leave you with this…with the Islanders and Rangers battling tonight at Madison Square Garden, here is a spirited bout between Eric Cairns and Sandy McCarthy in 2001 at the World’s Most Famous Arena.
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