Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Balance is not something you find; it’s something you create. When Lane Lambert’s mostly unchanged roster was said to be searching for chemistry in the early going, the team got to work, got comfortable with their tweaked system, and started to showcase the trait that made them successful in recent years.
The Isles have always been a team that’s greater than the sum of its parts. Perhaps more than any other team, their success is predicated on getting production from all four lines. Not one, not two - all four, all rolling at the same time to produce a balanced attack where scoring can come from anywhere in the lineup.
“Balance is key. Balance good, hockey good. Everything good. Balance bad, better pack up, go home.” - Mr. Miyagi (mostly)
In The Athletic, Kevin Kurz noted that only the Islanders and Boston Bruins have at least three goals from seven players. Absence from that list are Mathew Barzal and JG Pageau - two players that have scored 20+ goals in their careers.
But balance across all four lines isn’t limited to scoring goals. Pageau has won 48 of 90 d-zone draws (53.33%) this season and has been a key cog on the penalty kill. Meanwhile, Barzal has a team-leading 10 assists. Cal Clutterbuck has just one goal, but his 42 hits are second in the league.
The Isles are a team of contributors making contributions in a variety of ways. When that’s happening, the mix creates a balancing act that leads to wins.
Coming up, the verdict comes in for Zeeker, and the models are throwing a bit of love the Isles’ way. Plus, the defense is scoring in Bridgeport too, and one banner comes down while another goes up for Al Arbour.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: In Tuesday night’s contest against the Chicago Blackhawks, Islanders center Casey Cizikas drove hard to the net and collided head-on with G Alex Stalock, who came out of his crease to make the save. Stalock remained sprawled on the ice for a couple of minutes, then skated to the bench and would not return.
Cizikas received a five-minute major for interference and game misconduct.
💸 FINED TO THE MAX: After some suspicion that Cizikas could miss more time than what he missed in Tuesday night’s game, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety ruled that Cizikas will receive a $5,000 fine, the maximum allowable under the CBA. Barring anything unrelated to the incident, Cizikas projects to play for the Islanders tonight against the St. Louis Blues.
📈 MOVIN’ ON UP: Dom Luszczyszyn’s model via The Athletic wasn’t very kind to the Islanders at the beginning of the season, projecting them for just 89.6 points and a 29% chance to make the playoffs.
The Islanders have now won four straight games against some pretty formidable opponents. An updated projection by Luszczyszyn now shows the Islanders to reach 92.5 points with an increased 42% chance at the playoffs.
🔙 COMEBACK SZN: Lost in the excitement of Ruslan Iskhakov’s emergence for the Bridgeport Islanders and the presence of Aatu Räty and William Dufour, there’s another Islanders prospect enjoying a significant amount of success to start the AHL season on the blue line.
Samuel Bolduc is tied for the league lead in points amongst defensemen with 10 points (1G, 9A) through 8 games this season. In 57 games last season, Bolduc only managed two goals and five assists as his development took a step back after making a strong impression at training camp two seasons ago. His early season success is a good sign for an organization that lacks depth on the blue line.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders take on the toiling St. Louis Blue squad that has lost five out of their last five games. Puck drop is at 8 PM EST at Enterprise Center.
📊 STANDINGS:
📚 SOUND SMART: The Islanders have flipped the script from last season’s defense-first system to an aggressive offense with high expectations. As of Wednesday morning, the Islanders were ranked third highest in the NHL with a 3.17 xGF/60. As a result, they’re leading the NHL with 3.56 GF/60, according to NaturalStatTrick.
🗓 THIS DATE IN ISLANDERS HISTORY: 15 years ago, on November 3rd, 2007, the legendary Al Arbour accepted the invitation of head coach Ted Nolan to return to the Islanders bench for the 1500th. "Every day last season I would walk by that big board outside our locker room at the Coliseum that lists the franchise's award winners and milestones," Nolan explained. "And every day it would kill me when I'd see Coach Arbour made it to 1,499 games.
Behind Miroslav’s Satan’s pair of third-period goals, the Isles rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 and secure Arbour’s 740th career win. The Isles commemorated the milestone by replacing the banner celebrating his 739 victories with a new edition that highlighted his 1500 games as the Islanders’ coach. Arbour’s career record stands at 740-537-223.
🎧 Hockey Night in New York - Reminiscing With Glenn Healy! Islanders great Glenn Healy joined Sean Cuthbert & Chris Botta to revisit his time on Long Island, playing for Al Arbour, the run to the '93 Conference Finals, & the fabled "Heals & Flats Show!"
🔗 Lambert’s new system paying off, by James Nichols, The Fourth Period: “It took some time before it presented itself in a consistent manner, but the Lambert system, which has proven to be a much more aggressive approach than the Barry Trotz system, is making all the difference for the Islanders”
And we leave you with this… a rare snapshot of some of the pillars of the Islanders dynasty (minus Billy Smith) hanging out outside of the Nassau Coliseum.
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.....GLAD that Casey DIDN'T get SUSPENDED - an utter ABUSE of the league's authority if so - but a MAXIMUM - no, ANY - fine STILL completely unjustified, COMPARABLY abusive; GAME misconduct was bad ENOUGH - when the two Chicago backliners CAUSED him to collide with Stalock, and Zeeker again had ZERO space to avoid it (by MY estimation, FOUR square feet at MOST.....)