Good Morning, Islanders Country.
There’s a quote by Hall of Fame football coach Bill Parcells that says, “You are what your record says you are.” The point is that you can't reason distance between you and what you accomplish (or don't accomplish.)
The results speak for themselves.
As Kevin Kurz wrote in The Athletic on Tuesday, the Islanders, after 30 games and a record of 17-12-1, “are hanging around, looking like neither world beaters nor basement dwellers.” I think that’s a fair assessment of how fans feel about this team at this point of the season.
It wouldn’t surprise you if they got hot and shot up the very tight Metropolitan division standings, just as it wouldn’t shock you to see them get cold and drop out of the playoff picture by the end of this road trip.
They’ve shown you enough good to where you can be optimistic, but enough uneven play that questions whether they can be any better than a team competing for a wild card spot. That’s who the Isles are right now, and only better, more consistent results change that perception.
Coming up, the Isles power-play is going through a dip, and what we know about the Bo Horvat rumors. Plus projecting the Isles’ future, a Texas-sized debut for hockey, and a neon sign to brighten your man cave.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: After a 4-3 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins, the Islanders were off as they traveled to Arizona. Following the loss to the Bruins, Lane Lambert had no word yet on whether D Adam Pelech will be joining the team in Arizona.
◾️Lambert did say that Oliver Wahlstrom missed some shifts in the first period after getting hit in the face with a puck. Wahlstrom was fine after the game, and there’s no concern moving forward.
◾️ In Newsday, Andrew Gross takes a look at the Islanders’ recent struggles on the power play. The team is just 2-for-14 (14.2%) over their last five games, highlighted by an ineffective 0-for-3 against the Bruins, the team with the league’s best penalty-kill that also generated a short-handed goal on Tuesday night. But if you broaden the sample size, the Isles are 12-for-43 (27.9%) over the last 14 games, with power-play goals in 10 of those games, and the team remains confident in their unit.
◾️ PRETTY SOLID: “I think our power play has been pretty solid,” Noah Dobson said. “If you look at the last 10 games, I think we’ve scored in eight out of 10 of them on the power play. There are good penalty killers in this league. You’re not going to score every night. We’ll try to get back on the board on Friday.”
Context is important in this instance, but here we go.
The Vancouver Canucks are clearly at odds with their captain, Bo Horvat, regarding the 27-year-old and his expiring contract. So much so that the London, Canada native felt the need to put a statement out for the general public to address the situation that has so generated so much chatter around the league:
Adding fuel to the fire, NYIHockeyNow’s Stefen Rosner reports in his latest that the Islanders have already touched base regarding the Canucks captain:
It looks like Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat will be traded this season, and the New York Islanders are already hitting the ground running on trade talks.
While many teams will call Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin regarding Horvat, NYI Hockey Now has learned that the Islanders have already checked in on the 27-year-old.
It’s worth noting that the Vancouver Canucks also had a scout at the New York Islanders’ Tuesday night game against Boston, one of 13 scouts in attendance.
Bo Horvat has 20 goals and nine assists in 28 games this season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent. The Islanders currently have $10.859 million in available deadline space, and Horvat carries a cap hit of $5.5 million.
The Islanders already appear deep at the center position; however, ever since head coach Lane Lambert threw Mathew Barzal on Brock Nelson’s right wing, which saw substantial success in a small sample, many have wondered if that could be the answer to Barzal’s revolving door of linemates. The situation is certainly something to keep an eye on.
🍎 PLAYMAKER: Islanders’ fourth-round draft pick of the 2020 NHL Draft, Alex Jefferies, is tearing it up in the NCAA for Merrimack University. According to Lassi Alanen of EliteProspects, he ranks as a top-10 offensive forward in the dataset, primarily due to his high-end primary assist rate and elite individual chance creation. Other areas aren't quite as strong, but still relatively decent.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders continue their road trip as they head west coast to play the Arizona Coyotes on Friday and Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.
📊 STANDINGS: There were no games in the Metropolitan Division last night.
🔮 PREDICTING THE FUTURE: Corey Pronman and The Athletic NHL Staff took a look into the NHL’s Future Power Rankings, Projecting the 2025-26 standings. Panelists from The Athletic were assigned to different categories. Voters were asked to rate each team on a scale of 1-10 with a view to how this area could impact the team winning games in the 2025-26 season.
The Isles ranked 23rd in the projections: “Given how good the Islanders have looked early on this season, this feels a tad harsh, but it’s fair to say those on the panel are not full believers yet in this group — mostly due to a high team PDO, a light prospect pool, and a lot of big dollar commitments.”
📚 SOUND SMART: Here are some tidbits courtesy of Eric Hornick in The Skinny, following Tuesday night’s game versus the Boston Bruins: Josh Bailey had his first multi-point game of the season and, in the process, tied Pat Lafontaine for 7th in franchise history with 566 points. Brock Nelson now has 198 assists as he looks to become the 20th player in club history to reach 200 helpers. Mathew Barzal lost 10 of 11 draws, becoming the first Islander in over five years to win less than 10% of his face-offs.
🗓 THIS DATE IN ISLANDERS HISTORY: On Dec. 15th, 1992, the Islanders defeated St. Louis 4-3 in overtime on a neutral site at Reunion Arena in Dallas. Pierre Turgeon set up the game-winner, carrying the puck up the right side, then sliding a pass across the crease to Derek King, who beat St. Louis goalie Curtis Joseph for his 18th goal of the season.
"I thought the fans were enthusiastic, even though they weren't cheering for us," King said. "Dallas seems like a nice city. I thought the people did a pretty good job supporting the game."
The game which drew a crowd of 11,251, was the first NHL regular-season game hosted in Texas and one of a series of neutral-site games played by the NHL that season. Of course, the Minnesota North Stars relocated to Dallas one year later, but the first win belongs to King and the Isles.
🎧 Talkin' Isles: Barry Landers: Greg Picker and Cory Wright talk to former Islanders radio play by play voice Barry Landers, who was behind the mic from 1981-97. Landers talks about working for the Long Island Ducks in the 1960s, becoming the Islanders radio voice, working with Jean Potvin, calling the Easter Epic, and more!
🔗 Islanders stock watch: Who’s up, who’s down, and who might be replaceable, by Kevin Kurz, The Athletic: “With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the roster, player by player, now that we’re a little more than one-third through the 2022-23 season — who’s up, who’s down, who’s a vital component to the team moving forward, and who might be replaceable.”
And we leave you with this…today is not the day we stop bringing you Fisherman-themed merchandise. You can now own this neon fisherman sign courtesy of our friend @AthleteLogos. If you’re looking to brighten up a room, place your order HERE
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Re: how I feel about the season thus far; I feel like they are a pretty good team that should make the playoffs and they are mostly pretty interesting to watch. A little inconsistent, but nothing alarming. Would be helpful if Pelech is not out a long time and it would be good to get Palmieri back soonish.