I don’t care if Bettman’s blue,
Football’s dull and basketball too
Baseball, I don’t care about you
It’s hockey, I’m in love
Thursday night was crazy and fun and so modern-era Islanders. After struggling
to score all homestand, they rang up goals against the top team in the league with everything from a Kyle MacLean goal that most expected to be overturned, to an Adam freaking Pelech goal, to a Mat Barzal backhand classic. They welcomed back a longtime Islander in style, and even Brock Nelson’s wife did a long intermission interview with Shannon Hogan, the four cute Nelson kids climbing around the intermission desk in Cal Clutterbuck’s stead.
Say what we will about the wisdom of keeping so many players together for so long, there’s something very old school and fun about it, as affirmed by Mrs. Nelson discussing how the players and eight or nine wives basically grew up together on the Island. As a bonus, we had Thomas Hickey and Clutterbuck on the broadcast sharing impressions of even-keel, do-anything Nelson that we all suspected but heard confirmed by his longtime teammates.
Lose to the Blues and Capitals, then salvage the homestand with wins over the Lightning and Avalanche? Sure, of course. For a transitional season where little is expected, this continues to be fun.
Islanders News
- A most unexpected outcome, yet consistent with the season thus far… [LHH | Post | NHL]
- Brock on returning to the Island as a visitor: It’s weird. (You made the right choice though, Brock.) [Newsday]
- Here’s the video tribute, which MSG helpfully showed during the first period rather than going to commercial. It was good, but I was disappointed they didn’t show at least one clip of him getting under opponents’ skin while maintaining that classic Reverend stoneface expression. [Isles]
- Yet more from Brock and his memories: “Opening night here, when UBS first opened up. First goal. A lot of different memories,” he said. “Beau’s goal back in the Coliseum against Tampa. Bails’ OT goal [against Pittsburgh in 2018]. There’s a number of different moments and times that stick out.” [Post]
- Definitely helping matters is that Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock are showing flashes of their younger selves. Dare I say Pelech has looked like the cobra again. [Newsday]
- Mat Barzal alluded to this in post-game with Shannon Hogan, but this team believes in itself and feels like it can skate with anyone. That belief will make for entertaining efforts even when they fall short. [Newsday]
- More from Barzal: “It was the exact same as past games, just a matter of the puck going into the net.” [Isles video]
- Takeaways: Jonathan Drouin was a late scratch due to his back. (That afforded Max Tsyplakov a little more TOI, and I though he did well. Haven’t given up on him yet.) [Isles]
Elsewhere
Ten games in the NHL Thursday night, with wins for the Bruins, Smurfs, Penguins, among others. All those teams and the Isles have 32 or 33 points.
- Bourne: Is this Auston Matthews’ decline? [Sportsnet]
- Meanwhile, another Joseph Woll injury for the Leafs? [Sportsnet]
- File under Unexpected: Ryan McDonagh gets a three-year, $12.3M extension from the Lightning at age 36. [TSN]
- Legendary former Islanders assistant coach Scott Gomez, who also had a career as a player, reflects on being inducted into the U.S. Hall. [NHL]
