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Happy Friday, Islanders Country.
There are no more games in hand to be played by the teams closest to the Islanders, and they still reside in the top Wild Card position after a successful idle night of scoreboard-watching on Thursday.
The Pittsburgh Penguins lost 3-2 in Dallas, and our good friends, the Toronto Maple Leafs, handled the Florida Panthers 6-2 in Sunrise, meaning the Islanders chances to make the playoffs have now jumped up to 85.2% per MoneyPuck.
The Isles, Pens, and Panthers have all played 72 games - and it’s the Islanders with a two-point lead over Pittsburgh with the ROW tiebreaker and a three-point advantage over Florida with 10 games to play for all three teams. Wow.
We’ve learned a lot about this team in recent weeks. We learned that many of the attributes and intangibles associated with their core are still present. We’ve also learned that they are still capable of winning consistently when the team is all pulling in the same direction, out-working opponents, and staying true to their structure and commitment on the defensive end.
What we don’t know is what this team will play if and when Mathew Barzal returns to the lineup. It’s the wildcard of wildcards. Of course, you want the team’s most gifted playmaker back on the ice, but it’s unknown how his presence will impact the style and mindset the team has implemented in his absence. But still, we’re anxious to find out. It’s a good problem to have.
“Knowing that we have Barzy hopefully going the right direction and close for us is huge,” Brock Nelson told The Athletic. “You get a guy like that, that definitely changes things for us offensively and probably gives teams a little bit different look in terms of matchups and what they want to do. For us, a lot more depth, for sure.”
If Barzal returns, he’ll give the team a boost offensively. It should get Bo Horvat going and, most importantly, make the power play more dangerous, as in the league average. Playoff Series are often won and lost on special teams. The hard task of knocking off a favored team is made harder when you can’t score with the man advantage. Of course, the Isles need to make the playoffs, and Barzal needs to return for that good problem to have become a problem at all.
Coming up, Brock is bruised, but he’ll be back in the lineup tonight vs. CBJ. Plus, a game-played record is ready to fall in Bridgeport, the OG JT celebrates a birthday, the Isles do push-ups, an early empty-netter, and Nickelodeon night at UBS Arena.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: All-Star center Brock Nelson (looking like a prize fighter after receiving stitches above his right eye) was back on the ice and a full participant at practice on Thursday, bringing a sigh of relief to Islanders Country after he left Tuesday’s tilt with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first period and didn’t return after a hit along the boards.
“I felt better yesterday, and I felt better again today," Nelson said after Thursday's practice. "I just wanted to get back out there and keep going. Right now, I feel pretty good." Defenseman Sebastian Aho missed practice and is likely to miss his second straight game later tonight. Samuel Bolduc, who played well in his NHL return on Tuesday night, figures to remain in the lineup.
◾️Bridgeport Islanders captain Seth Helgeson will make history tonight. With 367 games played, the veteran defenseman is closing in on Mark Wotton's franchise record of 368 games played, set in the 2010-11 season.
"I'm very fortunate to have that opportunity," Helgeson said. "It's definitely an accomplishment that's worthy, so it'll be pretty exciting. But I'll treat it like any other game."Helgeson will tie the record against Belleville Senators tonight and is positioned to set the record against the Hartford Wolf Pack on Wednesday.
🥳 “The Greasy Jet,” Islanders Hall of Famer, and one of the most clutch performers in team history, John Tonelli, turned 66 years young on Thursday, a good enough reason to watch his assist to Bobby Nystrom at 7:11 of OT
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders start a Friday/Saturday back-to-back against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Face-off is set for 7:00 PM ET.
📊 STANDINGS: As we mentioned, here are the updated standings, with the Islanders holding a two-point lead on Pittsburgh and a three-point lead on the Florida Panthers with 10 games to play in the regular season.
🥅 PUSH-UPS: Sometimes, it’s after the more impressive wins that a coach needs to grab the attention of his team. That’s what appeared to be happening at Thursday’s practice as Lane Lambert made the players get down on the ice and do a pair of pushups each time someone missed the net.
📚 SOUND SMART: On Tuesday night, Noah Dobson hit the empty net with 6:04 to play. It was the 2nd-earliest empty-net goal in club history, behind only the goal awarded to Billy Smith on a delayed penalty in a game in Denver in 1979. The previous earliest "pure" empty net goal was scored by Mathew Barzal with 5:34 to play at MSG on April 29, 2021.
It was the 13th goal of the season for Dobson, matching last season's total. He is only the 3rd defenseman in club history with multiple seasons of at least 13 goals (Denis Potvin -12, Tomas Jonsson -3).
🗓 ISLES REWIND: On March 24, 2019, Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson scored to back Robin Lehner's fifth shutout of the season as the Isles beat the Arizona Coyotes 2-0 Sunday. Lehner stopped 31 shots to help the Isles win for the second time in two days and keep pace with first-place Washington in the Metropolitan Division. "Those are dangerous hockey games. We had chances to pull away and they hung around," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "We got it done."
🔗 To Islanders' relief, Brock Nelson is back on the ice after taking big hit by Dennis P Gorman, Newsday “Lane Lambert acknowledged the obvious: It was a positive that Brock Nelson was a full participant during Thursday’s practice at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow.”
🔗 Brock Nelson injury update: Islanders C back at practice Thursday by Joe Pantorno, am New York “New York Islanders center Brock Nelson was back on the ice for his team’s practice on Thursday before their trip to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets. “[It was very good to see him back at practice]. He seems like he’s OK,” head coach Lane Lambert said. “So that’s good.”
And we leave you with this…the Islanders and Nickelodeon are teaming up again to give Isles Nation a slime-filled multi-platform experience on Saturday, March 25.
Nickelodeon-themed activation spaces will be scattered throughout the concourses at UBS Arena for fans to enjoy, including a DIY slime station where fans can assemble their own exclusive jar of slime, and a Nick Jr. Kids' Corner with themed giveaways.
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Now we have arrived at a point where they absolutely should make the playoffs. Been quite a ride to get here. I hate using "must-win" when they aren't actually must-win, but tonight feels like a must-win and this weekend feels like a must 3+ point weekend. Then again, the Penguins lost two must wins in the last 10 days and then are still in a playoffs spot, so who knows.