Good Morning, Islanders Country.
It’s finally an Islanders Gameday. Remember those? The Islanders are re-starting their season (again) and starting a critical stretch that will likely determine whether a playoff push in this COVID-plagued season is a reality for the trendy Stanley Cup pick that was built for the post-season.
Coming up, Greg Wyshynski puts a MAGICAL twist on the NHL season, and yes it includes the New York Islanders. The Athletic is now in the card business (kind of), and although these bad boys aren’t tradeable, you’ll definitely want to check out the designs and graphics - after learning how to read them.
Are we still talking about this? Yes, yet another suggestion has Jakob Chychrun and the Islanders connected in convincing fashion. PLUS, the Isles haven’t been very supportive of Varly this season, a throwback to a losing streak ended without a win, and a way to place your Islanders’ bet.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: 11 games. 11 games before the All-Star Break. 11 games with 10 of them at UBS Arena. The next three weeks will determine if the Islanders are playing meaningful games in February, chasing down the second-wild card with every game in-hand or if the pre-season Stanley Cup contenders will be playing out the string of a season that was equally disappointing as it was bizarre.
As Ethan Sears wrote in the New York Post:
“In the next 10 days, they’ve got the Devils, down to their third-string goaltender; two games against the Flyers, losers of five in a row; and the historically bad Arizona Coyotes. This would be a good place to start.”
And as Kevin Kurz wrote in The Athletic, it’s now or never:
“ The Islanders surely don’t care who they play at this point, only that they play someone. They’ve seen the standings, know they are still at the bottom and are itching to do something about it. Whether anyone in the organization wants to admit it or not, the Islanders probably need at least 15 or 16 of the possible 22 points before the All-Star break to get into the playoff conversation.”
📊 POWER RANKINGS: In his latest article with ESPN, Wyshynski got really creative collaborating Walt Disney World with the NHL for what turned out to be a really fun article. So, just how did those worlds collide?
“Walt Disney World is currently celebrating its 50th birthday, having opened roughly four months before Jaromir Jagr was born.
To honor this magical place, and with no small amount of corporate synergy, we've decided to use this week's NHL power rankings to match all 32 teams with the Disney World attractions -- rides, food, characters -- that best fit their vibes.”
We’ve all been there before, right? Trying to sneak in as much as you can before the park closes? Well, that’s certainly how it feels for the Islanders and what’s left of the 2021-22 season. The Islanders are in the unique position where they’ve only played 28 games due to a number of postponements as a result of COVID complications. Now we’re in January, and with the 54 games that remain, they basically have last season’s shortened schedule to play.
It’s no secret the Islanders got off to a slow start this season, and at this point, the excuses don’t matter. When the Islanders get back on the ice tonight, they should be mostly healthy for the first time in a long time. They sit 14 points out of playoff position with games in hand. With a bit of MAGIC and a clean bill of health, maybe, just MAYBE the Islanders can go on a run and sneak into the playoffs.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders finally get back to action tonight against the New Jersey Devils, and will play four games in the next seven days.
📊 STANDINGS:
📇COLLECT THEM ALL: The Athletic introduced NHL Player Cards which they are describing as quick, digestible data on players from all 32 NHL teams. The brainchild of Dom Luszczyszyn, “every team will have their own separate page showcasing cards for 12 forwards, six defenders, and yes, even two goalies as well.”
Dom created a visual guide on how to read each card below:
Let’s take a look at Mathew Barzal and Noah Dobson. The metric at the bottom right of each card is GSVA which stands for GameScoreValueAdded which is equivalent of WAR (Wins Above Replacement) from baseball. You should think of it as how many wins the player adds to their team over a season.
The cards below show that Dobson is above his 2021 season pace in GSVR while Barzal is slightly below, but continues to perform at the “star” pace for Assists.
Visit the Islanders page for the list of cards.
📦 OUT-OF-THE-BOX: The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman also published an excellent article of her own today, one that included the Islanders as a possible landing destination for, you guessed it, Jakob Chychrun.
“Acquiring Chychrun would be an out-of-the-box move for general manager Lou Lamoriello, who often turns to players he’s had in the past. But it’s something management should be striving to make work instead of investing in aging players and depth options.”
Goldman makes some great points, starting with the Islanders’ window to win. The Isles don’t have the prospect pool to keep their window open much longer than the next few years. Chychrun is just 23-years old, and whereas Robin Salo is the same age, the two players are on different levels, one a top-four defenseman, and the other still figuring out his way in the North American game.
Chychrun still has term left on his contract with three years remaining after this season at an incredibly cost-controlled $4.3M AAV. In short, players like Chychrun on that kind of contract do not grow on trees, and Goldman believes it’ll increase the Islanders’ odds of returning to Stanley Cup contention sooner rather than later.
📚 SOUND SMART: Semyon Varlamov hasn’t started many games this season, but when he has, the Islanders haven’t been very supportive. In nine of Varlamov’s starts, the Islanders have given him the third least goal support this season at 2.19 goals per game. As a result, Varly holds a 2-5-1 record despite a decent .910 SV% and 2.77 GAA.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: One of the roughest stretches of Islanders hockey, one that didn’t have COVID decimating a roster, was in 1998…
Jan. 13th, 1998 - From the New York Times, Isles Tie, Ending A 10-Game Losing Skid:
“They were closing in on a franchise record for consecutive losses, the coach's was job in jeopardy, and the general manager was looking to shake up the team. And who was in town to help them snap a 10-game losing streak? The defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings.”“We had to get a tie or a win,'' defenseman Rich Pilon said. ''We were a little disappointed we didn't get the win, but with where we are now, we'll take a tie.''
🎧 Talkin’ Isles - Episode 17: Colin McDonald: Colin McDonald joins the podcast for episode 17. Cory and Greg talk to McDonald about: playing college hockey at Providence College (3:40), becoming the captain of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (12:30), making the jump to the Islanders in 2012-13 (14:00), the 2013 playoff series against the Penguins (18:10), the Islanders Stadium Series game vs the Rangers at Yankee Stadium (21:35), memories of Evgeni Nabokov (25:30) and Lubomir Visnovsky (29:40), his glove getting stolen (31:05), post-playing career (37:00) and more.
🔗 Islanders vs. Devils: At long last a game, by Andrew Gross, Newsday: “I think the preparation has been there,” Josh Bailey said. “When the puck drops, it’s just trying to get that first shift in, trying to get off to a fast start. Really get your legs under way, maybe get a bump early. It’s the cliché stuff that we talk about in those situations. We’ve all been through it before in different points of your career, if you’ve been out for a bit or situations like this, so you use those experiences to draw from and be ready to go.”
And we leave you with this…if you can remember watching Islanders games, you may recall seeing “Betway” among the sponsors near center ice and along the boards. Back in March, Betway, an online betting and gaming brand, announced partnerships with six NBA and NHL teams in the United States, including the New York Islanders.
With online betting now a go in New York and the metro-area, fans can place wagers on Islanders’ and other NHL games at Betway.
Here’s the lines for tonight’s game:
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter for regular updates until the next newsletter.
And please check out our newsletters about the Knicks and Mets, too.