They'll take it
Isles make the most of their chances; Varly shines again in 3-0 shutout win in DC
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Believe it or not, the unconventional hockey town of Fort Worth, Texas, has a Long Island connection. During the 1970s, the town was home to the Fort Worth Texans of the Central Hockey League (CHL). They were initially a Red Wings affiliate, but starting with the 1974-75 season, they teamed up with the Islanders.
To match their new big club affiliation, the team changed their colors to blue and orange and adopted a circular logo with a hockey stick over Texas (sound familiar, Isles fans?). Texans alumni include lots of players who went on to great things on Long Island, including Bob Bourne, Richie Hansen, Lorne Henning, and Bob Lorimer.
Shop Fort Worth Texans apparel at Vintage Ice Hockey, including jerseys, t-shirts, and sweatshirts.
Good Morning, Islanders Country.
A couple of days ago, captain Anders Lee said, "If you told us through the first eight games of the year this would be our record, we’d probably take it.”
They’ll take the ninth game of the year, too. The Islanders (5-2-2) shut out the Washington Capitals 3-0, and the final score is the only thing that would lead anyone to believe the Isles were the better team.
Semyon Varlamov is playing like the best backup goaltender in the league. On Thursday, he extended his shutout streak to 137:20. He’s stopped 105 of 108 shots he’s faced this season, a save percentage of a ridiculous .972 %.
Is he making the spectacular and sensational saves like Ilya Sorokin? No, but he hasn’t had to. Varlamov has been playing like a supremely confidence goaltender, one that is calm in the crease. He’s been rock solid this season, reading plays well, and not overcommitting. He’s trusting his eyes, seeing the puck well, and giving himself a chance to stop every shot with near-perfect positioning.
The Islanders have nine 12 points in 9 games; that’s a 109-point pace, and they still aren’t close to figuring things out. They’ve had a forgiving early-season schedule, allowing them to pick up points while allowing too many shots and committing too many turnovers. Last night, they were outshot 32-21 and out-attempted 84-42. It’s not a sustainable formula, but they’ve done enough to afford themselves time to find a way to sustain success.
Coming up, the Isles get back Scott Mayfield but lose Adam Pelech. Plus, Ryan Pulock’s goal sets a franchise record, the stats behind Varlamov’s outstanding night, and Al Arbour returns to the Coliseum to coach his 1,500th career game.
Let’s dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: Semyon Varlamov made 31 saves for his second straight shutout in the New York Islanders 3-0 win against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Thursday night. Ryan Pulock scored just 22 seconds into the game, and Simon Holmstrom extended the lead on the Isles’ second shot of the period at 10:41 on a pass from Hudson Fasching. Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist for the Islanders (5-2-2), who are 3-0-1 in their past four games. Darcy Kuemper made 18 saves for the Capitals (4-4-1), who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
KEY MOMENT(s):
🔶 This is how you stick in the lineup. Simon Holmstrom made it 2-0 at 10:41. Holmstrom eluded defenseman John Carlson at the blue line, worked a give-and-go with Hudson Fasching, and scored a one-timer from the slot.
🔷 It doesn’t matter what month it is for Brock Nelson. The Isles leading goal-scorer increased the lead to 3-0 at 11:15 of the second period, taking a pass from Pierre Engvall on the rush and scoring 5-hole from the bottom of the left circle.
3 REACTIONS
❶ KIND OF SLOPPY: "The first couple periods were kind of sloppy, but the important thing is we kind of stuck with it," Ryan Pulock said. "We were able to get a lead in those periods. I thought in the third period, we simplified and played more to the way we want to play. Some nights are going to be a little ugly but you find a way to get the job done. Tonight was one of those nights."
❷ APPRECIATE THE HELP: “I always appreciate the guys like working hard in front of me and blocking shots,” Semyon Varlamov said. “That’s what this team is good about [doing], they block shots every time they have a chance, and it always helps.”
❸ FASCHING IMPRESSES: “Fasching was good tonight, and that line was excellent,” Lane Lambert said. “I thought it was a great play he made to Holmstrom on his goal. I thought Hudson took pucks to the net and played the way he needs to play."
GAME IMPACT SCORE
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders return home on Saturday for a 2023 Stanley Cup playoff rematch with the defending Metropolitan Division champion Carolina Hurricanes. Face-off is set for 7:30 PM EDT from UBS Arena in Elmont, NY.
📊 STANDINGS:
📰 NEWS: Defenseman Scott Mayfield returned to the lineup after missing seven games since taking a shot off his skate in the season opener vs. Buffalo. Mayfield logged 21:21, was a +2, and picked up an assist on Brock Nelson’s goal, looking about as good as Lane Lambert could’ve hoped. “I liked this game," Head Coach Lane Lambert said of Mayfield. "I thought he was very good. He was solid defensively and I thought it was great in the penalty kill."
Part of the reason why Mayfield logged over 20 minutes in his first game back was that defenseman Adam Pelech was only on the ice for 3:24 after he left the game in the first period after colliding with Capitals forward Aliaksei Protas.
◾️ How good was Semyon Varlamov last night? Per Stats by Zach, he had a GSAx (Goals Saved above Expected of 4.69! It was Varly’s 40th career shutout, third against the Caps and his 274th career win, sixth most among active goaltenders in the league. It was his 15th shutout with the Isles, breaking a tie with Tommy Salo and moving him into fourth place on the all-time list.
◾️ For Newsday, beat writer Andrew Gross caught up with Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov to chat and reflect on the greatness of fellow Russian Alexander Ovechkin, who is chasing Wayne Gretzky and hockey immortality.
“I remember one story,” Sorokin told Newsday. “When I was with Shesterkin on the national team, and Igor was not playing, Alex said, ‘OK, let’s go to the net; I’ll shoot on you from my office [the left circle]. [Evgeny] Kuznetsov came to Igor and said, ‘Don’t worry, he doesn’t shoot high during practice.
“The first shot was here,” Sorokin said, laughing as he held his right hand near his head. “[Shesterkin’s] face was so nervous.”
The 38-year-old Ovechkin entered Thursday’s game against the Isles with 824 goals, 70 shy of matching Gretzky’s NHL record.
◾️ With the new data available via NHL Edge tracking, J Fresh Hockey took a stab and looking at the players with the most speed bursts over 20 mph over the least two regular seasons. Four Islanders, Pierre Engvall (14th), Mathew Barzal (24th), Casey Cizikas (42), and Bo Horvat (89), made the list of 100.
Also making the list was Karson Kuhlman (44), a free-agent signing this summer, who is playing in Bridgeport.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Ryan Pulock's game-winning goal came only 22 seconds into play; it is the earliest game-winner in franchise history, breaking a record set by Clark Gillies (:34) on February 22, 1976, in Landover, MD, also on the road against the Washington Capitals.
As mentioned, the Isles scored two goals on two shots in the first period. It’s the first time in history that the opposing goaltender(s) did not make a first-period save against the Isles. (It is only the 6th time in any period that the Isles scored on every shot in a period).
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On November 3rd, 2007, the legendary Al Arbour accepted the invitation of head coach Ted Nolan to return to the Islanders bench to coach his 1500th career game as Isles coach. “Every day last season, I would walk by that big board outside our locker room at the Coliseum that lists the franchise's award winners and milestones,” Nolan explained. “And every day it would kill me when I'd see Coach Arbour make it to 1,499 games.”
Behind Miroslav’s Satan’s pair of third-period goals, the Isles rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 and secure Arbour’s 740th career win. The Isles commemorated the milestone by replacing the banner celebrating his 739 victories with a new edition that highlighted his 1,500 games as the Islanders’ coach. Arbour’s Isles career finished at 740-537-223.
🎧 Island Ice Ep. 172: Good start to season, Cory Schneider, Andrew's Answers
🔗 Here's What Mayfield & Fasching Said Following Their Return to Islanders Lineup by Stefen Rosner, The Hockey News “The New York Islanders welcomed Scott Mayfield back from injury on Thursday night, while Hudson Fasching drew back into the lineup. Here's what they had to say following the 3-0 win over the Washington Capitals.”
🔗 Islanders get Scott Mayfield back only to lose Adam Pelech in injury tradeoff by Ethan Sears, NY Post “The Islanders started Thursday’s game thrilled to have a healthy defense corps for the first time since opening night.By the first intermission, they were right back to being a man down”
And we leave you with this ….Karine Côté, the mother of Isles prospect William Dufour is a breast cancer survivor and her son’s biggest fan, not letting anything stop her from watching her son play the game he loves and chase after his dream.
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Engvall 14th!