Good Morning and Happy Monday, Islanders Country.
We hope your week is off to a good start - how could it not be? To kick off the weekend, the Islanders defeated the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday's 3-0 shutout performance by Ilya Sorokin.
But wait, there’s more! Sorokin followed up his 26-save shutout with ANOTHER shutout last night against the Vegas Golden Knights. “Thr-Ilya” stole the show in Vegas propelling the Islanders to their second win in as many nights, and points in four straight games.
We’ll get you caught up on everything from over the weekend, but first, let’s recap last night’s game.
🏒 IN SHORT: Sorokin’s career-high 42-save shutout, plus Josh Bailey and Mathew Barzal’s goals, sealed the deal on a weekend of back-to-back wins collecting four points. In the Barry Trotz era, the Islanders have improved to 22-4-4 on the back end of back-to-back games since 2018.
Starting all six games thus far, Sorokin improved to 3-2-1 on the season. The Isles climbed out of the basement of the standings for the first time this season, and although it’s still very early, they are just two points out of first place in the division.
🗣 QUOTEBOOK:
WORKHORSE: “He's just a workhorse. He's always working on his game. For him to have the last three or four games he did was huge for us. His confidence is building every game.” Barzal on Sorokin’s work ethic and recent performance
BATTLE TESTED: “It was a long trip for everyone, but I think it was a good trip. We battled through adversity and finished strong, I think we're happy with it.” J.G. Pageau on battling through adversity after a slow start to the season.
PENALTY KILLER: “Your best penalty killer is always your goalie. He's been outstanding for us.” J.G. Pageau adds to the importance of Sorokin’s outstanding play.
🔑 KEY MOMENT(s):
🔺Pick a moment, any moment from “Thr-Ilya.” Sorokin made multiple saves last night to steal the show in Vegas. Most notably, he made this fantastic save on Keegan Kolesar that should have been an easy tap-in:
🔺 Barzal went top shelf, adding some insurance on the Islanders lead to make it a 2-0 game after Bailey helped him out on the forecheck:
3 TAKEAWAYS
❶ Zach Parise played his best game in an Islanders uniform. At times, he skated on the first line with Mathew Barzal and Oliver Wahlstrom, and the trio seemed to garner up some chemistry. Parise also contributed to the penalty kill, ending the night with 13:45 of ice time, four shots, and three blocks.
❷ Bailey gave the Islanders an early lead, scoring the game’s first goal just 2:16 into the first period. An early lead isn’t something the Islanders have played with often this season. The goal cut Vegas’ early momentum from early in the game, turning the tides in the Islanders’ favor.
❸ Saving the best for last, Sorokin was a monster. The Golden Knights controlled most of the second period. But save after Sorokin save, Vegas became increasingly frustrated. A 14-save second period shifted the momentum for the Islanders, and they locked down the third period and collect two points.
1️⃣ FIRST EVER: Sorokin is the first Islanders’ goaltender EVER to have shutouts on back-to-back days. After the game, Barry Trotz told the media Sorokin never played back-to-back games professionally, making a remarkable stat a little more exceptional.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders are about halfway through their road trip, and after back-to-back games this weekend, the team will have five days off of game action. They’ll return to Long Island for a few days before getting back on the road to face the Nashville Predators on Saturday, October 30th at 1:30 PM.
📊 STANDINGS: The Metropolitan Division shuffled a lot this weekend, including the Islanders moving up a few slots:
📰 NEWS: The Islanders 3-2-1 record is their best record through six games in the Trotz era. There were concerns about the Islanders’ slow start to the season, but the Isles are already in the best position they’ve ever been under Trotz through six games.
🤩 PRETTY: Anthony Beauvillier helped slam the door for the Islanders on Saturday night with this pretty third-period goal:
👶 JR. ISLANDERS: A pair of highly touted Bridgeport Islanders each had a big weekend contributing to the AHL club’s weekend victories:
🇫🇮 SALO-T: Robin Salo notched his first North American goal Saturday night scoring the game-winning goal in a 4-3 victory for the Bridgeport Islanders in overtime against the Springfield Thunderbirds. Salo is off to a good start in his first pro season on this side of the pond with two points in five games for Bridgeport.
🚨 GOAL-YSHEV: Anatolii Golyshev kept the party going for Bridgeport on Sunday, scoring two goals en route to a 3-0 victory three over the Laval Rockets. Golyshev has three goals in four games for Bridgeport.
📚 SOUND SMART: A second-period assist on Saturday tied Josh Bailey with Bob (Mr. Islander) Nystrom with 513 points, 10th overall in Islanders history. The very next night in Las Vegas, Bailey took sole possession of 10th place all-time in career points with 514 following his first-period goal Sunday. Next up, Bob Bourne is in ninth place with 542 points.
🏡 NEW DIGS: Nick Cotsonika of NHL.com visited the Seattle Kraken’s Climate Pledge Arena this weekend and was thoroughly impressed. With the Oak View Group in charge of constructing both arenas, he’s now even more excited to make his way to UBS Arena at Belmont.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: Per Islanders statistician, Erick Hornick, Robin Lehner (3/23-24/2019) was the last Islanders goaltender to play both ends of a back-to-back before Ilya Sorokin this past weekend. Poetically, the Islanders faced Lehner and the Golden Knights last night.
🔗 Islanders late-round pick could be the steal of 2020 draft, by Michel Anderson, Eyes on Isles: “His play hasn’t just impressed me and other Islanders fans, he’s even impressed The Atheltic’s prospects writer Corey Pronman. In a re-draft of the 2020 Entry Draft (subscription required), Pronman has Dufour at 55th overall. In the second round.”
🔗 Robin Salo Already Making Impact in AHL Bridgeport, by Christian Arnold, NYIHockeyNow: “Salo made quite the impression during Islanders training camp and was one of the last players sent down to AHL Bridgeport. The spark that he has had in the preseason has only continued into the start of the Brideport Islanders season.”
🔗 Even Years Later Robin Lehner Remains a Fan Favorite on Long Island, by Christian Arnold, NYIHockeyNow: “It will be another nearly two months before Lehner could potentially play on Long Island for the first time since playing for the Islanders, but whenever he faces his former team there are always positive memories that come along with it.”
And we leave you with this… this young Islander fan’s favorite member of the organization is none other than Islander broadcaster Shannon Hogan! We think we’ll be seeing Alison on the big screen in the future!
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