Good Morning, Islanders Country.
After 40 sleepy minutes, the Isles awoke and upped their game. In the third period they played what Barry Trotz called a “mature game” on their way to a 3-0 win over the Ottawa Senators behind a standout performance from Semyon Varlamov.
Winners of five straight at home, the Islanders are so hot at UBS Arena, the team is handing out oven mitts to fans.
Coming up, the roster receives a vote of confidence and Wahlstrom has a chance to show he belongs beside Barzal. Plus, Bryan Trottier scores the fastest goal in team history, Varly reaches double-digit shutouts for the Isles and fans get tattooed at the game. But first, let’s recap last night’s shutout victory.
Let’s dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: Behind 24 saves from Semyon Varlamov and a three-goal third period, the Islanders defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-0 at UBS Arena on Tuesday night. The shutout was Varlamov’s first of the season, 10th as an Islander, and 35th of his NHL career. Scott Mayfield broke a scoreless game at 9:49 of the third period and Brock Nelson had three assists for the Islanders (27-25-9) who improved to 6-1-1 in their past eight games. Anders Lee scored at 17:25 to make it 2-0, and Zach Parise added an empty-net goal with 47 seconds remaining in the game. Anton Forsberg made 24 saves for the Senators (22-36-5), who have lost five of six.
🔑 KEY MOMENT(s):
🔷 In the first, Adam Pelech caught Mathieu Joseph with his head down, lined him up, and unloaded a check that sent Joseph and Casey Cizikas to the ice.
🔶 The whistle didn’t blow after the hit and play continued despite a skirmish by the blue-line. Chris Tierney was sent on a breakaway but Semyon Varlamov was up to the task for his biggest save of the night.
🔷 The first goal of the game came at 9:49 of the final period. Anders Lee fed the puck down low to Brock Nelson whose sharp angle shot was deflected and came to a darting Scott Mayfield who beat Anton Forsberg up high for his third goal of the season and first in 28 games.
🔶 At the 17:25 mark, Casey Cizikas’ centering pass didn’t make it cleanly to Anders Lee, but the captain found the puck and was able to lift it high off the shoulder of Forsberg and in for his 24th goal of the season.
3 REACTIONS
❶ DEFENDER FIRST: “He can contribute and he can make some things happen, but he's a defender first and a hard defender first, great penalty killer, good stick, can handle weight and all that, but his order is right in his game, Barry Trotz said of Scott Mayfield. I'm a defender first, I can help out and I make good decisions for the most part when I do that. It was huge, he got the winning goal today.”
❷ VARLY DESERVED IT: "It was nice to turn it and get him a win and a shutout on top of it," Brock Nelson said. "I'm sure it means a lot to him and it's huge when goalies get that. I say it more often than not, they give us a chance to win, so it was nice to get that for him."
❸ BUILDING UP: “We believe in this group, this team, and what we’re capable of is in that room, Anders Lee said. “Regardless of where we’re at, we’re building this team up as much as possible and building towards our final goal.”
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders host Thomas Greiss and the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday at 7:30 PM ET at UBS Arena.
📊 STANDINGS:
📰 NEWS: Newly extended Cal Clutterbuck missed his second straight and is considered day-to-day. Ross Johnston took his spot on the fourth line while Kieffer Bellows and Sebastian Aho were healthy scratches as Andy Greene was back in the lineup.
🚨 CORE BELIEFS: There were no new additions or subtractions at the Islanders’ first skate since the trade deadline. The team “stood pat” and the players are eager to prove that it was a wise decision to show confidence in the team’s core. “I think there’s a lot of pride in this group,” Brock Nelson said. “Just look at it for what it is, accept where we are, and use it as motivation. Realize that we’ve had success in the past and we can get back to that.”
The entire team, not just the core remains intact for now. The way the last 21 games of the season unfold might determine just how much of the team remains together after what could be an eventful summer.
◾️ YOU JUST ROLL YOUR EYES: “I think we understand all of the things that have happened,” Trotz said. “It’s one of those years that, you couldn’t make up half the stuff that was happening at times. And you just roll your eyes and sorta keep going. Obviously, we felt pretty strong that the core still has the ability to do some damage for sure.”
◾️ VOTE OF CONFIDENCE: “I think we’ve seen it a little bit more in recent games, but we have an identity,” Scott Mayfield said. “We believe in this group. It’s nice to see that vote of confidence from management as well.”
👀 HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU, KIDS: The Islanders plan to find out about their forward group during the last quarter of a season, not just as individuals, but as combinations as well, and perhaps no pair carries more intrigue than Mathew Barzal and Oliver Wahlstrom. In AMNY, Joe Pantorno writes about the opportunity for the playmaker and the sharpshooter to show that they can co-exist on the same line.
The trio has played just over 58 minutes together over the last five games and while they’ve only managed one goal so far, their CF% is at a promising 59.5%, per Dobber Sports. That’s the second-highest CF% of any Islanders line that has played over 10 minutes together this season, only behind the trio of Brock Nelson, Anthony Beauvillier, and Kieffer Bellows (60.0%).
◾️ DANGEROUS: “The comfort level for me is getting better. They have been dangerous,” Trotz said. “I’d like a little more production, but I’d say that about every line. They’ve been getting chances, they’ve been producing and they haven’t been giving up a lot.”
◾️ A GOOD MARRIAGE: “My biggest fear is if it’s a chance-fest, we’re going to end on the bottom end of those a lot of times,” Trotz added. “We want to make sure it’s more in their court with chances for rather than chances against. It’s been a good marriage so far with Zach as a third ingredient.”
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Semyon Varlamov has allowed just seven goals in his last four games (3-0-1, 1.72, .944) and with Tuesday’s shutout became the 7th goaltender in team history to record 10 shutouts and the first Islander to blank Ottawa since Ron Hextall on February 18, 1994. Overall, Varly has 35 shutouts in his career against fourteen different teams (including one against the Isles).
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: On March 22, 1984, Bryan Trottier scored 5 seconds after the opening face-off against the Bruins at Boston Garden. The goal tied the NHL record set in 1981 by Doug Smail of Winnipeg for the quickest goal in a game. Despite the fast start, the Islanders needed two goals from Mike Bossy to erase a 3-1 deficit and tie the Bruins 3-3. You can watch the entire game HERE
🔗 Isles show ‘vote of confidence’ by standing pat at deadline by Ethan Sears, NY Post “The Islanders went about the past couple weeks wanting to prove to management that it was worth sticking with their core. Mission accomplished.”
🔗 Islanders Quiet Deadline Signals Confidence in Current Roster by Mike Fink, The Hockey Writers “The New York Islanders entered the trade deadline in a unique situation, with only 26 wins in their 60 games played and a roster that had plenty of players that could have been traded but ultimately stayed quiet. The Islanders were one of the few teams to not make a move on the busy trade deadline day itself.”
And we leave you with this …. Artists Daniel Cotte and Jimmy Nascimbene were on the concourse behind section 112 to offer real tattoos throughout the game and there was at least one found that took them up on it! Now that’s Islanders Pride.
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