Good Morning, Islanders Country.
The Islanders didn’t help themselves on Saturday, suffering a lopsided loss to the St. Louis Blues and they sure didn’t get any help from the Washington Capitals who swept their weekend games and now have regained their 15 point lead over the Islanders for the second wild-card spot with just 11 games left to play.
Barry Trotz wasn’t throwing this stick at the TV on Saturday, but Islanders fans scoreboard watching might have. After this weekend’s results, the only reason to scoreboard watch the rest of the season is if you have placed a wager. Oh, and the Rangers and Maple Leafs both clinched spots in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday night. This is why you shouldn’t watch games with a hockey stick.
Coming up, the Isles and Canes do something that has been done only four times in 105 years and Kyle Palmieri scores the latest GWG in over 30 years. Plus, a night of firsts for Grant Hutton, we remember Game 1 going to the Island and a touching moment from Providence on Saturday night.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders’ weekend brought mixed results, but also certainty. After a resounding 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night, the Isles were blown out 6-1 by the streaking St. Louis Blues to end their five-game road trip. Meanwhile, the Washington Capitals all but ended the Isles’ hopes of making their late April matchups meaningful with back-to-back wins over the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins.
Here are the key news and notes from Friday and Saturday’s games:
◾️ Kyle Palmieri scored the latest game-winning goal by an Islander in over 30 years (Tom Fitzgerald vs NYR in 1991) breaking a 1-1 tie at the 19:45 mark with an incredible individual effort.
◾️ FINAL MINUTE: This was the type of ending that statistician Eric Hornick dreams of! The Islanders led 1-0 into the final minute of regulation, lost the lead, and still won before 60 minutes was played - that doesn’t happen … almost ever.
◾️VERY RARE: It is only the 4th time in the 105 year history of the NHL that it has happened. The last time was in 2007 when the Bruins Bruins beat San Jose Sharks. Of course, Zdeno Chara played in that game as well.
◾️ SUSPENDED: Forward Casey Cizikas was suspended one game by the Department of Player Safety for this hit Friday night against Carolina’s Brendan Smith. Cizikas served his one-game suspension Saturday, missing the game versus St. Louis.
◾️SECOND TO NONE: St. Louis’ Justin Faulk scored two goals and added an assist in a four-goal second period. Nick Leddy scored a goal and how has points in five straight game for the Blues. St. Louis has outscored the opposition 99-63 in the second period.
◾️ ROUGH NIGHT: Mat Barzal was a -5 and Zach Parise a -4. All seven goals scored in the game were done so at 5-on-5. It was the worst Isles loss to the Blues since 2002. Oliver Wahlstrom played a team-low 10:31 TOI.
◾️ BRAIN DEAD “We were brain dead after the first (period) and we didn't have enough fight in the dog,” said Barry Trotz after the 6-1 loss. “Once they got the third and fourth goal, we just were playing shinny.”
◾️A FIRST: Defenseman Grant Hutton became the 387th player in Islanders’ history to score when at the 18:41 of the second period with the Islanders trailing 5-0. It was also the first NHL point of his career in his 13th game. “Fun to get back into the room and have all the guys saying, ‘Congrats,’” Hutton said after the game.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders are back home at UBS Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.
📊 STANDINGS:
🎙 ON THE CALL: Bridgeport Islanders play-by-play man Alan Fuehring had the call on Saturday night’s game from MSG studios in NYC alongside the NHL Network’s EJ Hradek. Fuehring has been behind on the mic for NHL games before having filled in for Chicago Blackhawks games, but on Saturday, he was filling in for Brendan Burke, and coincidentally, it wasn’t the first time he stepped in for Burke. It happened 10 years ago on a slightly smaller stage.
💯CENTURY MARK: Islanders prospect William DuFour registered his 100th point of the season with the Saint Johns Sea Dogs after two first-period assists on Saturday night. After Sunday’s game, a 4-2 win over the Quebec Remparts. DuFour now has 48 goals and 54 assists in 57 games. The 48 goals are the most ever for the Sea Dogs.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Ilya Sorokin is 12-4-3 at UBS Arena and his 1.86 GAA is the lowest of any goalie who has played at least ten home games. Since February 1st, he has been even better, going 6-1-1 in eight home starts (1.55 GAA, .950 save percentage); both the goals-against average and the save percentage is the best in the NHL among goalies who have played at least two home games in that stretch.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: On April 10th, 2019 it was “Game One to the Island!” as the Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins opened up the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Nassau Coliseum. With the Islanders leading 3-2 late in the third, the Penguins’ Justin Schultz tied the game with 1:29 left to play sending it to overtime. Then at 4:39 of the extra session, Mat Barzal's backhand hit the left goalpost but Josh Bailey swooped in to beat Matt Murray for the 4-3 OT win.
"It just happened so quick," Bailey said. "I wasn't sure. It didn't lay very flat for me. I was just trying to whack it and hope it went in … A crucial game. There's still a long way to go, but a good win for us."
🔗 Mike Bossy didn’t fit the NHL mould but he filled NHL nets, Dave Poulin, The Toronto Star: “Elegant. Graceful. With style. A distinct sense of élan. A grouping of words one might use to describe an opera. Or a ballet. Instead, they describe a talented goal- scoring maestro, one of the purest to ever ply his trade, New York Islanders superstar Mike Bossy.”
🔗 DOBSON: A BUDDING SUPERSTAR, by James Nichols, The Fourth Period: “Now that New York Islanders’ budding superstar defenseman Noah Dobson has reached the 40-point mark, it’s time we start talking about it more.”
🔗 Islanders Palmieri Thriving With Pageau, by Jon Zella, The Hockey Writers: “In any event, Pageau and Palmieri seemed to click almost immediately, even if the goals took a second to develop. The two right-handed shots play with plenty of speed and are defensively responsible. Palmieri’s gritty play and hard-nose, to-the-net style seems to balance well with Pageau’s ability to find open space and finish his chances.”
And we leave you with this… a touching video of Emily Cave, the wife of the late Colby Cave, hugging the Islanders Austin Czarnik during the retirement ceremony for Cave’s #25 on Saturday. Cave and Czarnik were roommates during their time playing with the Providence Bruins where the Czarniks and Caves established a close relationship.
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