Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Spring was in the air on Tuesday and perhaps it got you reminiscing about playoff hockey. Three years ago, the Islanders swept the Penguins in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. A year ago, the Isles prevailed in a hard-fought six-game series. Last night, they gave us a memorable back and forth game with a little bit of everything, generating a playoff-like intensity and atmosphere fans will miss this Spring for the first time in four years.
Coming up, Wahlstrom’s learning curve continues and MSG Network will have some new voices this week. Plus, Palmieri excels paired with Pageau and Parise with a multi-goal first of his career. But first, a recap of last night’s shootout win.
Let’s dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: Ilya Sorokin made a career-high 43 saves and Kyle Palmieri scored the only goal in the shootout as the Islanders defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 at UBS Arena on Tuesday night. Zach Parise and Josh Bailey each had two goals each for the Islanders (34-29-9), who have won six of their past eight games. Sorokin improved to 13-4-3 at UBS Arena, with a 1.96 GAA and a .934 save percentage. Jake Guentzel had two goals and an assist, and Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell each had two assists for the Penguins (42-22-11), who have lost five of six and are 3-6-2 in their past 11. Casey DeSmith made 33 saves. [BOX]
🔑 KEY MOMENT(s):
🔷 The Isles squandered a 3-1 lead and the game went to third tied 3-3. Andy Greene shot the puck in and as it went around the boards it caromed to Josh Bailey in the slot. Bailey made a quick move to his backhand and beat Casey DeSmith to regain the lead 2:49 into the third.
🔻 After a phantom tripping call on Anthony Beauvillier gave the Penguins a power-play and they converted quickly when Jake Guentzel’s shot was deflected off Jeff Carter standing at the top of the crease.
🔶 After killing a Pens power-play during the OT, the game went to a shootout. The Isles were only 3 for 30 this season heading into their three attempts. Shooting second, Kyle Palmieri ripped a low hard wrist shot inside the left post for the only goal in the shootout for the win.
3 REACTIONS
❶ COME TOGETHER: “I think you look at us as a line, said Kyle Palmieri. Coming together a couple of weeks ago I think we've been able to find each other well, with a little bit of space in the offensive zone & sustain some pressure so whether it's any of us, you get a clean look.”
❷ LIKE MARTY: He's a butterfly goalie but he reacts really well," Zach Parise said of Ilya Sorokin. "In practices, honestly, he reminds me a lot like a lot of Marty [Brodeur] with his competitiveness. And you know, Marty was like that were first shot, initial shot, rebound, like he did not want you to score regardless in practice and Sorokin is a lot like that. It's challenging as a shooter, but it makes you a better shooter. And it's, it's fun to have one of those guys in that."
❸ GETTING REWARDED: "You're happy for him because he's plays multiple roles for our team and important ones and you want those guys to get rewarded," Barry Trotz said of Zach Parise. "So he plays the right way. That's to me why he's had success, why he's a good pro and why he's here."
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders and Penguins wrap up a home-and-home set on Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
📊 STANDINGS:
📰 NEWS: After the morning skate it appeared Barry Trotz’s intention was to make Oliver Wahlstrom a healthy scratch on Tuesday night after a sub-par performance in St. Louis, but Kieffer Bellows turned out to be sick, keeping ‘Wahlly’ in the lineup. After having 8:27 of ice time through two periods on Tuesday, Wahlstrom didn’t see the ice in the third.
◾️ TRUMP YOUR INSTINCTS: “If you watch the St. Louis game, there were some poor reads by Wahlstrom in that game, and therefore it just put that whole line into a little bit of a spin cycle,” Trotz said before Tuesday’s game. “There are times when you have to understand that the systematic play has to trump your instincts. Wahlstrom’s an instinctive player.”
◾️ Per Stefan Rosner in NYIHockeyNow, heading into Tuesday’s action, Wahlstrom has 13 goals and 11 assists. While that is a new career-high in points, he only has one more goal and two more assists than he did last season in 21 more games. Wahlstrom has shot the puck more this season than last, with 149 shots (94 shots in 2020-21), ranking second on the New York Islanders behind Noah Dobson (170).
◾️ Isles legend Butch Goring remains out of the MSG Network lineup with an upper-body injury (shoulder) meaning the look and sound of the broadcast will continue to be different this week.
◾️ Anson Carter worked Tuesday’s game against the Penguins while Joe Micheletti will be alongside play-by-play man Brendan Burke on Thursday for Thursday night’s game. Cheryl Pounder will serve as the color analyst on Friday against Montreal and Sunday against Toronto.
The resurgence of Kyle Palmieri has been one of the stories of the second half. He had already started the turn the corner when returning from paternity leave with newfound ‘Dad Strength’ but he hit another gear when paired back with JG Pageau, his linemate for the 2021 post-season.
Per Kevin Kurz in The Athletic, “Since they were stapled together permanently on Feb. 27, [Kyle] Palmieri and [JG] Pageau have been on the ice for 17 goals and just four against during five-on-five play. After Zach Parise and Kieffer Bellows got a chance with them at first, Bailey joined them as the left-wing March 10 and has remained there since.”
◾️ SECOND HALF SUCCESS: “I think with Palms, a lot of stuff that I saw in the playoffs (last season), you’ve seen in the second half,” Trotz said last week. “He’s hard on pucks, he’s got the real good release, he’s good on the walls, he can make plays under duress. Those are the things that you saw in the playoffs. You didn’t see them really at the start of the year as much, but you have in the second half.”
◾️ Dom Luszczyszyn’s player cards reflect Palmieri’s strong second half of the season, showing that his calculated market value of $5.1M is in-line with the contract he signed in the off-season.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Zach Parise scored both shorthanded and on the power play. It is the first time in his career that he has done so in the same game. Frans Nielsen (2-23-2016 vs. Minnesota) was the last Islander to do so while Michael Grabner (4-5-2011 at Boston) was the last Islander to do so in a single period. It is the 22nd time in club history a player has scored both a power-play goal and a shorthanded goal in the same game. Josh Bailey is the first Islander to score two unassisted goals in a game since Brock Nelson did so on January 8, 2019, vs. Carolina.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: On April 12, 2019, Jordan Eberle and Josh Bailey scored less than four minutes apart in the third period as the Isles beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 for a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series. The Isles took the lead when Barzal sent the puck up to Eberle on the right side and he skated across the front and sent a backhand in at 7:54 of the third for a 2-1 lead.
🔗 Ryan Pulock finally trending in the right direction by Peter Schwartz, WFAN.com “Over 46 games this season, Pulock has three goals and 13 assists, and a plus-2 rating. Adrenaline got him through that first game back from injury, but from there, Pulock needed some time to get back to his usual form and get up to game speed.”
🔗 Islanders’ Sorokin Has Hit on Potential to Become Elite Goaltender by Mike Fink, The Hockey Writers “He emerged as an elite goaltender that the Islanders not only can build their team around for the future. The 26-year-old goaltender established himself this season as one of the best young goaltenders in the NHL and gives the team plenty of optimism heading into the offseason.”
And we leave you with this ….the Twitter account @OldHockeyCards asks Can you have too many Mike Bossy cards? The answer is no, no you cannot.
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