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Islanders Anxiety – Episode 365 – Another 82 Game Playoff

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Mike and Dan recap a week of good and bad for the Islanders, and set up what could be a massive Canadian road trip and a home game against the Blue Jackets next Sunday.

A contest in St. Louis with a lot of weird connections ended being the most Rangers-like win we’ve seen in some time, using two late powerplay goals to complete a shocking overtime comeback victory. A return home meant a deflating loss to the LA Kings that saw no comeback happen, then a victory over Calgary that almost got a way from them. Overall, the games showed what the Islanders still lack: a definitive executable structure on the ice and a set line-up that maximizes everyone’s strengths. There’s a difference between stopgaps and solutions, and right now the Islanders seem to have more of the former than the latter.

With games against the very beaten down Maple Leafs, the surging Senators and the stumbling Canadiens, the Islanders have a chance to pick up points. And they better, because next Sunday’s game at UBS Arena against Columbus could mean the season. Once again, they are the mercy of their schedule and their opponents’ schedules, so the time for experimentation is over. They need to treat these games like they’re the playoffs. If they don’t, they might miss them altogether.

We also get into Mathieu Darche’s longterm plan for the club, what the hell has happened to the Flyers, the struggles of the Carson Soucy-Scott Mayfield pairing and the hope that next week is finally Schenn Week.

REFERENCES


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PLUGS!​

  • Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
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  • Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
  • Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

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Source: https://www.lighthousehockey.com/is...-82-game-playoff-blues-kings-flames-holmstrom
 
Islanders News: Headed north to settle some things

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I like defeated butts and I cannot lie. | Getty Images

The Islanders begin their last road “trip” of the regular season as they head north of the border for visits to tanking Toronto and still playoff-holding Montreal and playoff-hopeful Ottawa.

After this trip, they’ll finish with 10 of 12 games at home and only single-game trips to make up those two away games in Buffalo and Carolina. They can induce karmic damage to the Leafs, depress the Senators’ playoff hopes, and do likewise to the suddenly-not-safe Canaadiens.

As things stand today, the Eastern Conference playoff race is incredibly tight, with the Isles and Penguins in the 2-3 seed of the Metro tied at 81 points, while Boston and Detroit tenuously hold the wild card slots with 80 points, and surging Columbus (79 points) and Ottawa (77 points) not far behind.

So, much to play for from the opponents on this trip, except for the Leafs, who are without Auston Matthews and have a pretty good incentive to tank harder so they can keep the top—five protected pick that is otherwise headed to Boston.

Islanders News​

  • Getting solid goaltending from their backup is refreshing, and should help the playoff push. [Newsday]
  • Brayden Schenn “had no idea” what kind of player Simon Holmstrom was when he arrived on Long Island and he’s been pleasantly surprised by the skill and 200-foot game. [Post]
  • Speaking of which, it was a third “Iron Man Mask” award for Holmstrom. [Isles]
  • The Isles were pleased to be the one jumping to a 3-0 lead for once. [Post]
  • The Skinny: “Matthew Schaefer has drawn 32 penalties this season, more than any other NHL defenseman, and tied-2nd in the NHL (behind Connor McDavid and tied with Macklin Celebrini).” [Isles]

Elsewhere​


Last night’s NHL scores included Montreal losing late at home in regulation, while Toronto and Ottawa each picked up wins.

  • Team USA x3: The paralympic ice hockey team won its fifth straight gold, and for the first time one country swept the men’s, women’s and para ice hockey golds (defeating Canada in the final each time). [Athletic]
  • Leon Draisaitl scored in an Oilers win, but he left after receiving a big hit. [NHL]
  • Man, what could’ve been. Jared Spurgeon is playing his 1,000th game in a Wild uniform. He was drafted by the Garth Snow Isles but left unsigned, at a time when the team signed similarly undersized Aaron Ness and Mark Katic. (Such mistakes can happen, but man we had one commenter BCISLESMAN who was singing Spurgeon’s praises pre-draft and for the whole two years we had his rights). [Athletic]
  • Connor McDavid is one star saying NHL player safety discipline needs review. [Sportsnet]
  • Cole Hutson leaves BU to sign his ELC with the Capitals. [NHL]
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Source: https://www.lighthousehockey.com/is...44328/islanders-news-holmstrom-schenn-sorokin
 
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