Good morning, Islanders Country.
In the latest episode of “The Red Line,” co-hosts Phil Farber (@PhilzFacts) and David Tuchman (@TuckOnSports) are ready to waive the white flag and accept that they were wrong about the Islanders' playoff chances. This comes after the team was shut out 4-0 by the New Jersey Devils on Sunday at UBS Arena, their seventh loss in their last eight games (1-6-1) following their winning streak, which had a lot of us duped into believing this season would be different.
The Isles have been a mentally fragile team this season, and Ilya Sorokin has been unable to cover up for their mistakes. They also discuss the team’s 0-6-3 record in back-to-backs this season and discuss what changes could come in the final games of the season, even if it doesn’t change the ultimate outcome.
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Listen, enjoy, and dive in.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Mathew Barzal has had five separate point streaks of at least five games this season, including an 8-game and a 7-game streak. Noah Dobson is the first Islander defenseman with at least 65 points since 1984-85, when Denis Potvin had 68, and the first with at least 57 assists since 1983-84, when Potvin recorded 63.
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On Mar. 26, 1995, Ray Ferraro scored his 14th goal of the season after a shot deflected off Patrick Flatley’s face with 2:34 left in the third as the Isles rallied from a three-goal deficit to tie the eventual Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils 5-5 at the Nassau Coliseum. The game is also remembered for Claude Lemieux taking a cheap shot at Brett Lindros while defenseman Scott Stevens had the young defenseman over the NJ bench.
🎧 Islanders Never Say Die Podcast: Struggles Continue
🔗 The NY Islanders have lacked mental sharpness when playing back-to-back games via Eyes on Isles. “I think it's a mindset," said defenseman Ryan Pulock following Sunday's 4-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils at UBS Arena. Everyone is in good enough shape to play in back-to-back days. We played at one o'clock yesterday [Saturday]; we had time."
🔗 Despite Struggles, Islanders' Hiring Of Roy Still Remains Key Move by Stefen Rosner, The Hockey News “Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello could have kept Lambert until the end of the season before bringing Roy aboard in the summer. But the in-season move, at the very least, allowed for Roy to evaluate the roster, which will pay dividends for 2024-25.”
And we leave you with this…part 2 of Trevor Gillies, Shawn Bates, and Bryan Trottier playing pranks at a Long Island Shell Gas station.
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The Red Line: We Were Wrong