Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Tough Teams. Tough Buildings.
That’s what Islanders captain Anders Lee had to say about the Isles’ five-game road trip that starts tonight in Boston. The trip presents a challenge but also an opportunity for the Islanders to get away, get focused, and bond a bit.
In fact, head coach Lane Lambert views December as “not a bad time” for the team to be away from home. “There's a lot of things that go on around Christmastime and things like that. So we just need some focus,” the coach added.
The Islanders still are without their complete roster but will need to play complete games against a slate of strong opponents (Boston, Vegas, Arizona, Colorado, and the Rangers) as they try to right the ship after losing three of their last five games. During a long hockey season, there will most certainly be ups and downs, but the key is to limit the bad stretches. If the Isles can return to UBS Arena after a positive trip on Dec. 23, it will serve as a major plus heading into 2023.
The Islanders were in playoff position for the all-important ‘American Thanksgiving’ marker in the season. Will they remain there come Christmas Day? A lot will depend on the outcome of this road trip.
Coming up, the Palms and Beau are back at practice, but Pelly remains out and won’t travel to Boston. Plus, why you should keep your hands off Aatu Räty, a new set of player cards, Butchie goes off against Gretzky’s Oilers, and how Nyisles got his name.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders practice at the Northwell Health Ice Center on Monday, and both Kyle Palmieri (IR) and Anthony Beauvillier were skating. For Palmieri, it was his first practice since getting hurt in Toronto on Nov. 21.
◾️ D Adam Pelech was not at practice and won’t be making the trip to Boston, but the team plans to re-evaluate him at that point before ruling him out further.
◾️ In NYI Hockey Now, Stefen Rosner had some stats with and without Palmieri in the lineup. With the 31-year-old, the Islanders averaged 3.35 goals per game, allowing just 2.15, and had a point percentage of .600. Over the last nine games without Palmieri, the Islanders have averaged just 2.88 goals per game, allowing 2.78 (Pelech missed the previous two games) with a point percentage of .556.
A SIGNIFICANT ROLE: “It’ll be really important [to get Palmieri back],” said Zach Parise. “No question, he helps out the power play. He’s played a pretty significant role on any line that he’s been on. Between him, Beauvillier, and Pelech, these guys are welcomed back as soon as they can [get back].”
👊🏻 B-PORT BRAWL: We’re a day late on this one, but it’s worth highlighting. During Bridgeport’s 5-2 win over Providence on Sunday night, the Bruins’ John Beecher pinned down Aatu Räty after a face-off, and tried to start a fight with the promising prospect. Seeing what was unfolding, Kyle MacLean darted for Beecher and came to Räty’s aid with a leaping tackle. For his actions, MacLean was ejected from the game. Räty had a goal and two assists in the win.
🎉 BIRTHDAY BILLY: Hall of Fame goaltender Battlin’ Billy Smith turned 72-years-young on Monday. A four-time Stanley Cup winner, Smith was the first goalie ever credited to score a goal in NHL history. When the 1983 Conn Smythe winner retired in 1989, he was the last original Islander still on the team. On February 20, 1993, the team retired his No. 31, and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame later that year. Cheers, Billy!
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders are at TD Garden tonight to take on the leading team in the Atlantic Division, the Boston Bruins. Face-off is 7:00 PM ET.
📊 STANDINGS:
🃏CARD PLAY: In The Athletic, Dom Luszczyszyn dropped his much-anticipated NHL Player Cards version 2.0 on Monday. There’s a visual guide on how to read the card and the projections. One of my favorite - and easiest-to-understand features - is the Market Value number. This is how much the player would make based on their expected market value.
Ilya Sorokin is not an unrestricted free agent until after next season, but you can see the staggering market value number he has based on his impressive season.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, after outshooting the opposition in 11 straight periods, the Isles have only 19 shots in the last four periods. The Isles were held to just 16 shots on goal Saturday night against the Hurricanes, the fewest in any game since March 19, 2019, vs. Boston.
🗓 THIS DATE IN ISLANDERS HISTORY: It was a Stanley Cup preview on December 13, 1983, as Butch Goring scored four times against Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers, leading the Isles to an 8-5 win at the Nassau Coliseum. Goring scored both Isles goals in the second period, unassisted at 5:28 on a 2-on-1 and again at 17:23. Goring completed his four-goal effort at 17:15 of the third, scoring into an empty net. The win was the Isles’ ninth straight against EDM.
🎧 Hockey Night in New York: Heading In Reverse Retro. Guest: Eric Fichaud, TVA Sports “Isles alum and original fisherman jersey wearer Eric Fichaud joined Seany and Chris Botta to discuss it all, including just how good Ilya Sorokin is and how goaltending has changed since he manned the NHL pipes!”
🔗 Islanders ready for a huge five-game road trip by Peter Schwartz, WFAN.com “After dropping three of their last five games, the Islanders begin a critical five-game road trip on Tuesday night in Boston. It’s an excursion that will also take them to Arizona, Las Vegas, Colorado, and Madison Square Garden for a meeting with the Rangers.”
And we leave you with this…over at NewYorkIslanders.com, Cory Wright tells the story of how Nyisles got his name. The fan credited with naming the mascot was 13-year-old Ilana Gazes from Massapequa Park (with an assist from her mother).
When the mascot was introduced to Islanders fans on Feb. 18, 1995, she was standing next to him on the Coliseum ice. On Saturday, the pair were reunited at UBS Arena.
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