Good Morning, Islanders Country.
We assume you and your significant other had a lovely Valentine’s Day. Hopefully, you are in a committed, reciprocal relationship because you are not getting much love from the Islanders right now.
You stay up way past bedtime when they’re away, you spend money to see them when they are home, and all you’ve gotten so far is a lot of disappointment. This season you were promised Godiva chocolates, but so far all you’ve received is a box of Whitman’s. You’ll settle for Russell Stover at this point! (I secretly love Whitman’s, it’s my go-to.). We’ll see if the Isles can surprise us with a last-minute assortment of roses before this season’s relationship is through.
Coming up, the trade deadline starts to loom and a struggling scorer is expected to sit again. Plus, a hotshot prospect wins player of the week honors, the Islanders make a pretty solid first hire back and some sweet Isles’ love notes.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders hit the ice on Monday for practice in Buffalo where they visit the Sabres later tonight. With Semyon Varlamov in COVID-protocol, the team recalled goaltender, Cory Schneider, from Bridgeport. Schneider hasn’t played in an NHL game since the 2019-20 season. For Bridgeport this season, he is 5-9-2-0 with a 3.08 GAA (goals-against average).
While many could point to Jakob Skarek’s recent play as an indicator that he should have been the one called up, it may not make sense right now in terms of his development. Ilya Sorokin likes to play, and this gives him an opportunity to do that. In addition, it’s better for Skarek to continue playing and developing in the AHL with an eye towards the future. The Islanders don’t have a back-to-back until the second week in March, so Sorokin should be able to handle the load until then.
🌴 PALM SCRATCHED: Based on the line combinations at practice, it appears likely that Kyle Palmieri will remain a healthy scratch since returning to the team from paternity leave over the weekend. The struggles of Palmieri are well-documented (1 goal, 6 assists in 29 games), but his advanced stats aren’t terrible (they’re actually pretty good) and as incapable he’s been in finding the back of the net, the Islanders need his offense to have a chance.
After the Islanders scored six goals with unusual line combinations in Vancouver with Palmieri going out on paternity, it was not surprising to see Trotz go back to them in Edmonton. But after the one night magic wasn’t recaptured, it does raise eyebrows to see Ross Johnston remain in the lineup as Palmieri and Kieffer Bellows sit out. This could be a card being played by Barry Trotz to get him going, by having him watch a couple of games, but this is a player that has already missed extended time due to injury. You feel that KP needs one goal to instill his confidence. He won’t be able to do that from watching in the press box.
📉 TOUGH SELL: Following back-to-back losses, attention understandably is turning towards the Islanders being sellers at the trade deadline and which players could be most coveted by playoff-bound teams and generate a quality return. Whether or not the looming deadline has started to seep into the mindset of players, the questions from the media have started to come.
“It’s probably more known and unsaid. Everyone here wants to win for each other,” said Brock Nelson said. “Without having to say it, everyone wants to stick together and we don’t want any change so we have to put a strong push here and win some games.”
"It’s been a roller coaster," Anthony Beauvillier said. "Lots of adversity for us. But it’s not a bad thing. We’re going to get back on track. We’re going to win some games. We want to focus on the way we play for a full 60 minutes. We’ve got better in us and everybody knows that."
Realistically, the list of UFAs with external value is Cal Clutterbuck, Andy Greene, and Zach Parise. For players with the term, Seymon Varlamov and the salary-cap-friendly contract Scott Mayfield are likely the most attractive. If the Isles are to move players it will be with an eye on a retool, not a rebuild, and based on his comments on Monday, Barry Trotz still has confidence in the group that’s been assembled.
“I believe in this roster in a sense that if everybody played up to our potential, our ceiling, then we could stack a bunch of games together and be a team that’s hard to play against,” Trotz said. “We haven’t been as good. This roster can compete. We have the pieces, we just need them all to pull on the rope.”
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders are set to play the Buffalo Sabres tonight. Winners of two straight, they won’t be as easy as they look, especially for an Islander team wondering in the unknown.
📊 STANDINGS:
👏🏻 DUFOUR DOES WELL: QMJHL Player of the Week is Saint John Sea Dogs winger and Islanders 2020 5th round selection, William Dufour. In three games, the 20-year-old from Quebec City, Quebec scored three times and added five assists as the Sea Dogs went 2-1-0-0 on a road trip through Eastern Quebec.
📚 SOUND SMART: After a very late test result placed Semyon Varlamov into COVID-19 protocol just before the face-off, the Islanders were in EBUG (Emergency back-up goalie) territory. Colin Cooper of Mount Royal University in Calgary was the EBUG and according to statistician Eric Hornick, would have worn No. 60 if he was forced into action. Ray Schultz and Kevin Poulin are the only Islanders to have worn that number. Schultz is in the rare group of Islanders who have won four numbers for the team, also wearing 36, 7, and 39.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: On February 14th, 1972, 38-year-old hockey executive, Bill Torrey, was named General Manager of the expansion New York Islanders. Torrey oversaw the Islanders’ construction, drafting the original roster in the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft where he selected future Hall of Fame goaltender Billy Smith. Of course, he would build the Islanders into a dynasty by also selecting Hall of Famers Denis Potvin, Mike Bossy, Clark Gillies and acquiring other key players such as Butch Goring via trade as the final piece of the championship puzzle.
Torrey spent 21 years with the franchise on Loing Island and a banner with his trademark bowtie is hanging in the rafters.
🎧 Nassaumen Hockey’s LIVE Isles Fix Postgame Show: Join James and Jon for a live edition of the podcast on Twitter and YouTube following the Islanders’ latest matchup with the Buffalo Sabres.
🔗 Hoping for a hot streak, Islanders look to keep trade rumors at bay by Joe Pantorno “Should things continue their downward projections, however, president and GM Lou Lamoriello will quickly face the difficult decision of breaking up the roster ahead of the NHL’s March 21 trade deadline. Such whispers are already being circulated around the league with speculation rifling its way up and down the Islanders’ lineup for potential trade candidates.”
And we leave you with this…courtesy a 2018 NewYorkIslanders.com entry , Valentine’s Day love notes from some of your most desirable (although perhaps not eligible) Islanders.
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