Good Morning, Islanders Country.
It was 80’s night at UBS Arena on Saturday, and the Islanders (15-8-0) capped off a week that was reminiscent of the success of the dynasty era. Lane Lambert’s team won four games over six days and now has the fourth most points in the Eastern Conference and fourth most wins in the NHL.
There was a bit of everything last week.
The Isles stole a game in Toronto on Monday, and then on Wednesday, Ilya Sorokin stood on his head vs. Edmonton. They blew a 2-0 lead in Columbus on Friday night before regaining control of the game in the third. Finally, on Saturday, they started sharp, stalled in the second, but owned the third period once again and this time showcased toughness and stood up against an antagonizing opponent in a way that would’ve made Clark Gillies proud.
Coming up, Oliver Wahlstrom tells (and shows) the league that he took MMA lessons, and Zach Parise may be the league’s biggest bargain. Plus, Brock Nelson goes back-to-back, Billy Smith makes history without taking a shot, and a nostalgic take on the Isles logo.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders announced that D Robin Salo was reassigned to AHL Bridgeport on Sunday morning. No corresponding move was made, meaning the Islanders are carrying 22 of a possible 23 skaters until further notice.
◾️F Kyle Palmieri (upper body) missed his third straight game on Saturday and remains day-to-day. Simon Holmstrom has played in all three of those games and recorded an assist during Friday's 3-2 victory over the host Blue Jackets on an Oliver Wahlstrom goal.
◾️D Ryan Pulock had four assists on Saturday night, the second time he’s done that in his career (1/20/18 vs. Chicago). He has 10 helpers this season.
◾️ Former Islanders first-round pick Kieffer Bellows, claimed by the Flyers on Oct. 27 was on a line with Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett. He skated 15:31 with one shot on goal. In 10 games with Philadelphia, Bellows has yet to record a point and is a -4, averaging 12:02 TOI.
◻️GETTING USED TO IT: “First few games were getting used to the system, getting used to the guys,” Bellows said. “But now, these last three games, I feel like I’ve really hit my stride. Really moving, really making plays. I know the stats haven’t shown it, but sooner or later, with these chances, it’s gonna go in.”
Fighting isn’t for everyone, but for players; when you aren’t the one to start the fight but are the one to finish it, it’s the type of moment that can bring close teams even closer together. Such a moment late in Saturday night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
After a clean check by Alexander Romanov on Kevin Hayes, his Flyers teammate Nicolas Deslauriers went after the Islanders’ defenseman and would receive a game misconduct. Seconds laters, Flyers D Tony DeAngelo jumped Wahlstrom. After absorbing a couple of shots, Wahlstrom, who fought Toronto’s Rasmus Sandin earlier in the week, gained his composure and the upper-hand, rag-dolling DeAngelo to the ice before eventually skating off.
◾️ GLOVES ARE IN THE AIR: “I wasn’t even expecting it,” said Wahlstrom. “I just saw Romy [Romanov] went down and everyone kind of skated over to see if he was good and then I turned around and [DeAngelo’s] gloves are in the air and I’ve got to protect myself.
◾️GOOD TECHNIQUE: “I trained MMA with (Martin) and Pulock a little bit. It’s a good little technique to have. I’m a big guy and sometimes in my game I throw a big hit here and there and you’ve got to expect someone to come after you. It’s part of the game. I’ve just got to use it to my ability.
💰 A GREAT BARGAIN: As Stefan Rosner wrote in NYIHockeyNow, there are 79 players in the NHL that make the league minimum 750K. At 38, Zach Parise is the oldest with that salary hit, and he also might be the most productive. Per Rosner, he currently leads the list with 23 games played, seven goals, 13 points, and 58 shots on goal.
Parise hasn’t missed a game since becoming an Islander, playing in 105 consecutive games. On Saturday, he scored twice on the power play for the fourth time in his career. Through 23 games, he has seven goals. A year ago, it wasn’t until the 23rd game on December 11th that he finally broke through.
The stats are never going to impact Parise’s play. We found that out last season. He’s a consistent high-energy, high-effort player and one that Lane Lambert can move around the lineup when needed. It’s an asset to have your most available player be arguably your most versatile.
◾️FULL MARKS: "He has the versatility, first of all he's on the power play, kills penalties, plays against other teams' top lines," Lambert said after the 5-2 win against the Flyers. "He's very versatile. There's no question about it. I give him full marks. I thought he was one of the catalysts tonight to get us going.”
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders have just two games this week. It starts on Tuesday as they wrap up a home-and-home series against the Philadelphia Flyers. We’ll see if there is any carry-over from Saturday’s fisticuffs.
📊 STANDINGS:
🧱 BRICK WALL: Per JFresh’s advanced analytic model, the Islanders remain the NHL’s best in goals saved above expected at a +22.3. Ilya Sorokin is the main culprit of the bloated statistic with a +15.0 GSAx of his own. A 49-save performance against the Edmonton Oilers helped strengthen the advanced analytic stopped 3.36 GSAx.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Brock Nelson scored the game-winner on consecutive days for the second time in his career (April 8-9, 2017). Anders Lee has also done that twice (December 19-20, 2014, and January 6-7, 2020), but no other Islander has done that in the last 15 years. Nelson also joins Mark Parrish (October 10-11, 2001) as the only player in club history to score the game-winning goal in the 3rd period of both halves of a back-to-back set.
🗓 THIS DATE IN ISLANDERS HISTORY: On November 28, 1979, Billy Smith became the first goalie in NHL history to be credited with a goal. Smith didn’t shoot the puck but rather saved a shot from Colorado Rockies defenseman Rob Ramage during a delayed penalty and was the last Islander to touch the puck when Ramage’s pass missed its target and went all the way into his own empty net.
"[Ramage] came in and took the shot and it bounced off of me and he picked it up in the corner," Smith remembers years later. "Without looking, he fired it back to the point and it went all the way down the ice into the net. Who was the last guy on the other team to touch the puck? It was me, so I got credit for the goal."
🔗 Rosner: Why Zach Parise the Best Bang-For-Your-Buck Player in NHL, by Stefen Rosner, NYIHockeyNow: “There are 79 players in the NHL this season that have a salary cap hit of $750,000. New York Islanders forward Zach Parise is one of those 79 and is once again showing to be one of the best bang-for-your-buck players the NHL has to offer.”
🔗 4 Takeaways From Islanders’ 5-2 Win vs Flyers – 11/26/22, by Mike Fink, The Hockey Writers: “The New York Islanders swept the back-to-back over the weekend and with both wins continue to prove why they are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. After defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets on the road 3-2, they traveled back to UBS Arena to face a struggling Philadelphia Flyers team and beat them 5-2.”
And we leave you with this…for 80’s night, the Islanders called the creative genius of Dylan Sadiq (@thecollgecuber) to create this Rubik’s cube mosaic of the Islanders logo.
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