Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Earlier in the week, I wrote, “They say when you expect the worst, you won’t be disappointed. I’m here to tell you that’s not necessarily true.”
That was when we were told that Anthony Duclair would be out “long-term.” I don’t know about you, but I was expecting multiple months, the type of ‘we’ll see you after the All-Star Break’ type of injury.
Well, I’m here to tell you that expecting the worst was the way to go because, on Thursday, the Islanders announced Duclair would be out for 4 to 6 weeks, which was universally received as good news and a silver lining of sorts after the way GM Lou Lamoriello described it earlier in the week.
The fact that we received an actual timetable was surprising, let alone that Duclair has a chance to return before the end of the calendar year. That would be 12 games on the early side and 19 on the long side. “All I care right now is to see him be back 100% and feeling good when he's back," head coach Patrick Roy said. "That's where the focus is."
The challenge is the same for the scoring-starved Islanders. They must find ways to generate offense and pick up points while waiting for Duclair’s return. That can happen in a few ways. Players like Oliver Wahlstrom, Simon Holmstrom, and Maxim Tsyplakov can step up, or players like Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat, and Brockn Nelson can elevate their game.
Elite goaltending was always a necessity. Now, it feels even more like a must-have for the Islanders as they try to find their finishing touch, which remains eternally elusive or schizophrenic. A back-to-back game against two teams starts tonight with no issue finding the back of the net. A poor offensive showing against a New Jersey team that has allowed NINETEEN goals over their last three games will make even rational fans uneasy this early in the season.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: Patrick Roy made a line change at Thursday’s practice, flipping Oliver Wahlstrom and Casey Cizikas from Tuesday’s lineup, putting Cizikas back on the fourth line with Liam Foudy and Kyle MacLean while Wahlstrom will have another opportunity to make an impact playing with Anders Lee and JG Pageau.
◾️ KEEP DOING WHAT YOU’RE DOING: "I just want him to continue to play the way he's been playing," Roy said. "I don't think it's a different role because he's playing with Pageau and Anders, I want him to continue to work well in his zone. If there's a chance to maybe score goals if they're there, but if it's not [there], just play his game and be himself. That's all I want."
◾️ EXCITED TO PLAY: "He has a great shot, good vision, and he's very good with the puck in the o-zone," Pageau said. "He's put a lot of emphasis on his defensive game and has some grit to his game. I'm excited to play with him.”
Roy has remained upbeat about Wahlstrom, though he isn’t showing up on the scoresheet. He’s praised his defensive play and effort, and now the 24-year-old gets an opportunity to play on a line where he has some comfort, having been a regular alongside Pageau in prior years.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders are in Newark tonight to battle Jack Hughes and the New Jersey Devils. Face-off from Prudential Center is at 7:00 PM EDT.
📊 STANDINGS:
Worlde Scorer
The Wordle word of the day had an Islanders theme on Thursday. The word was “Bossy,” and its usage came 36 years to the day that Bossy from the NHL and 43 years after he became the fastest to reach 250 career goals, doing it in an NHL-record 315 games (that was later surpassed by Wayne Gretzky).
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Islanders GM and President of Hockey Operations Lou Lamoriello (1,446) and Patrick Roy (152) have combined for 1,598 career wins as general manager and coach. That is the highest in the NHL among active combinations by a wide margin.
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On October 25, 2019, Nick Leddy becomes the first defenseman in Islanders history to score on a penalty shot when he beats Ottawa Senators goalie Craig Anderson at 17:19 of the first period in a 4-2 win. Leddy registered the second two-goal game of his career on the night and added an assist as the Islanders won their sixth straight game.
🎧 Double Chili Podcast w/ Peter Schwartz: “The Double Chili Islanders Podcast" with Peter Schwartz Tours Belmont Park Village with Value Retail CCO Jason Katz. Peter talks to Jason about the new retail village across the street from UBS Arena. The village just had it's soft opening with many more stores and restaurants opening in the coming weeks.”
🔗 Why the Islanders’ offense has failed to click to start the season by Ethan Sears, New York Post “There is one story and one story only going on with the Islanders right now, and that is the one Patrick Roy said Tuesday night, with tongue in cheek, he hoped he was not asked about: three shutouts in six games. Everything this early in the season is a small sample of numbers that will, to some degree, regress to a mean. The Islanders are not going to be shut out 41 times. They are not going to finish the season with a shooting percentage of 6.6. There is a matter of luck at play in any six-game sample, no matter how good, bad or mediocre.”
🔗 Islanders Roy Explains Exactly Why He Has Barzal & Horvat On Separate Power Plays by Stefen Rosner, The Hockey News “Now, Bo has one-time options from three of the four guys," Roy said. "He could go to Pageau, or he could go across to Palmeri; he is a great shooter. Or he could go on top [to Dobson]. On the other side, you have Barzy, who can go to the pocket (bumper spot) to Simon [Holmstrom], or going on top to Reilly, or go across to Nelson. “
And we leave you with this…a look at the 4 Nations Face-off Jerseys!
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.