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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Must-win, can’t lose.
It’s a running joke on social media about how many “must-win” games a team can during the season. This may come as a surprise, but it turns out that you can lose multiple “must-win” games and still make the playoffs.
Last season was among the years such a feat happened.
Having said that, tonight sure does feel like a must-win, right? Not only for the team but also for the coach because the fanbase has lost patience with Lane Lambert. We’re at the stage where every move, every line change, and every quote returns an adverse reaction from frustrated fans who care deeply about this team.
On Thursday, he was asked to compare this most recent skid to the team’s seven-game winless streak in November. His response wasn’t wrong, but its tone didn’t match the sense of urgency surrounding the team.
We acknowledge the fluky and unfortunate way they lost in Nashville and the bad luck in Winnipeg, but it sounded as if Lambert is underplaying the team’s issues. Talking about great efforts and games you should’ve won when you’re 2-6-1 in your last nine and out of a playoff spot isn’t what the fanbase wants to hear right now. You can either have success or have excuses, but you can’t have both.
This team has had the same deficiencies since the start of the season, and Lambert’s inability to change course and fix their most reoccurring issues is a problem. The combination of these weaknesses not being called out consistently, followed by the team's inability to correct their troubling trends, has led to a fanbase losing faith in their team and its coach.
All of the above makes tonight a must-win, and you can bet that, win or lose, there will be more to follow.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: Following his call-up on Wednesday, Kyle MacLean was on the ice for Thursday’s practice, occupying Casey Cizikas’ spot between Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck on the fourth line. The 24-year-old has played in Bridgeport for the past four seasons, racking up 78 points (29G, 49A) in 193 AHL games.
MacLean wore number 32, previously worn by Ross Johnston. Pierre Engvall, who missed Wednesday night’s game, was not a participant and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. It also appears that Samuel Bolduc may draw back into the lineup as he was playing alongside Sebastian Aho on PP2. That would mean that the cooled-off Mike Reilly would be a healthy scratch.
Coach/Player and Father/Son
It’s not unusual for family to be in attendance for a player’s first NHL game, but having your Dad behind the bench? That’s different and also special.
“It’s a tough road to stay with it; there’s ups and downs,” said Islanders assistant coach John MacLean, “I was a first-round pick, and it worked out for me. You get extra looks. Kyle didn’t get extra looks all the time. He had to keep working. He had to keep going. He enjoyed it and he loves the competition. It’s a credit to him more than anything else that he was able to stick with it.”
The elder MacLean scored 413 goals and 429 assists over 18 years with the Devils, Sharks, Rangers, and Stars. The two-time All-Star posted 3 straight 40-goal seasons from 1989-91 and won his first Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 1995.
“He's got a job to do and I’ve got a job to do, so it's good business relationship now,” Kyle said. “But definitely in the back your mind to have that special connection, it's a cool situation.”
Possession is 9/10 of the Law (and game)
For the New York Post, beat reporter Ethan Sears dug into some possession numbers on the NHL Edge database, and the results are not encouraging.
Per Sears, “The Islanders are spending just 38.4 percent of their time in the offensive zone, compared to 43.4 percent in the defensive zone, at even strength. Both of those numbers are below the 50th percentile league-wide.”
Lane Lambert has lamented the team's puck management all season. Poor decisions have often led to turnovers, preventing them from exiting their zone and causing long shifts in their own end spent chasing the puck. These offensive zone numbers, to an extent, back up that criticism of his team.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders are looking to close out their road trip on a high note as they visit the Chicago Blackhawks. Face-off is set for 8:30 PM EST.
📊 STANDINGS:
Alumni Night
Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News had the exclusive list of Isles alumni who will skate against rival Rangers alums in the annual Alumni Classic, to be played at Northwell Health Ice Center on Sunday, Jan. 28.
The list includes Hall-of-Famer Pierre Turgeon, along with fan favorites Johnny Boychuk and Steve Webb, among others.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, The Isles have scored 28 power-play goals; they scored 35 all last season. Meanwhile, they have allowed 37 power-play goals; they allowed 39 all last season. Only 11 of those 39 were at home; the Isles have already allowed 14 home power-play goals this season.
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On January 19th, 2017, the Islanders shutout the Dallas Stars3-0 at Barclays Center behind 23 saves from Thomas Greiss. John Tavares recorded two goals, including one on a breakaway to give the Isles a 2-0 lead in the third period. Calvin de Haan added the insurance marker with four seconds left on the clock. Greiss added an assist to de Haan’s late insurance goal.
🎧 The Red Line: Welcome to DEFCON1 “In the latest episode of “The Red Line” with co-hosts Phil Farber (@PhilzFacts) and David Tuchman (@TuckOnSports), the boys discuss how they’ve gone from concern to the arrival of DEFCOM 1, the point where a dramatic change in the way this team plays is needed to make the playoffs.”
🔗 How the Islanders’ offense is missing its grind, squandering possession and hurting the defense by Ethan Sears, New York Post “After Wednesday’s 4-2 loss in Winnipeg, the Islanders are spending just 38.4 percent of their time in the offensive zone, compared to 43.4 percent in the defensive zone, at even strength. Both of those numbers are below the 50th percentile league-wide.”
🔗 Islanders Call-Up Kyle MacLean Goes 1-On-1 About His Development & Time With Bridgeport by Brendan Yerkes, The Hockey News “The 24-year-old center is in the midst of his fourth season with the Islanders, and his experience from being a local kid and his time in junior hockey have set him up well for his professional career and this NHL chance. MacLean spent five years playing junior hockey with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) before signing a contract with the Islanders organization in 2021 as an undrafted free agent.”
And we leave you with this…the story of a former Islander (albeit for just 7 games) who saved an NHL employee from choking on a pretzel in the press box.
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the way Coach talks when asked about this bad stretch (and any other one we've endured) by throwing in an excuse or that "we played great until.." is very similar to going home with a bad report card of all D's , but telling your mom and dad "yeah, but I got an A in gym"...
FIRE "LAME" LAMBERT