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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
It's a Quick Fix featuring Joe Buono (@IslesFix) and former VP of Communications for the Islanders, Chris Botta (@ChrisBottaNHL).
Some games mean more than just one loss or win - they can define a season. After last night’s embarrassing 9-2 loss to the New York Rangers at UBS Arena, fans are wondering whether the shameful loss was enough for ownership to make the changes they have been reluctant to make and turn the page this off-season.
The assumption has been that GM Lou Lamoriello will be back, but with each passing day, the moment calls for change. Head Coach Patrick Roy can defend his team’s effort all he wants, but the results are what they are. This isn’t a good hockey team, and they are further away from serious contention than they were at any point in the last four seasons.
They rode things out as long as possible, but if games like last night don’t tell you that real change is needed, I’m not sure what will.
Listen and enjoy!
📰 NEWS: The Islanders were without goaltender Ilya Sorokin for last night’s game against the Rangers after he left Tuesday’s 7-6 overtime loss in Nashville after two periods. He has been ruled out with what head coach Patrick Roy clarified Thursday as a lower-body injury. Initially reported as upper-body, the diagnosis changed following a medical evaluation.
Roy emphasized that Sorokin’s current injury is unrelated to his back surgery before this season. “After the game, I said it was an upper body,” Roy explained. “But after seeing a doctor, it has nothing to do with what happened during the summer with his back. It’s a lower-body injury.”
The injury occurred late in the second period on Tuesday when Sorokin was crashed into by 6-foot-6, 232-pound Michael McCarron, who fell on him while scoring Nashville’s fourth goal. Roy declined to say whether Sorokin would return for the final four games of the regular season. “That I could not tell,” he said. “Dr. Roy does not have the answer on this one.”
🚨 Tristan Lennox Joins Isles on Emergency Recall
With Sorokin sidelined due to a lower-body injury, the Islanders recalled goaltender Tristan Lennox from AHL Bridgeport on an emergency basis Thursday morning. Lennox joined the team for practice before tonight’s game against the Rangers and backed up Marcus Hogberg.
Lennox entered the third period after the Rangers took a 6-1 lead and allowed a goal on the second shot he faced. He was then promptly pulled by Patrick Roy. Hogberg went on to allow two more goals.
The game marked the first NHL recall for Lennox, a 2021 third-round pick (93rd overall), who has seen limited action in the AHL this season due to injuries. In four games with Bridgeport, Lennox has posted an 0-3-0 record, a 4.44 goals-against average, and a .832 save percentage. Over five seasons with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, Lennox compiled a 59-45-7 record with a 3.26 GAA, .887 SV%, and four shutouts.
Sam Rosen Send-Off
MSG Networks broadcasting legend Sam Rosen called his final Islanders-Rangers game last night. Rosen, who will retire at season’s end, spoke to Islanders play-by-play man Brendan Burke as part of the pre-game show, and the team paid tribute to Rosen’s contributions during the game on the video board.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, The Isles had never allowed more than six goals in a home game against the Rangers; the nine goals matched the most the Rangers have ever scored against the Isles. The Isles allowed nine goals for the first time since April 7, 2009, in Carolina, and for the first time at home since October 20, 1981, vs. Los Angeles. The Isles allowed four goals in multiple periods for the first time since December 11, 2008 in Pittsburgh, and for the first time ever on home-ice.
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On April 11, 1975, playing in their first playoff series, the upstart Islanders shocked the rival New York Rangers when J.P. Parise scored 11 seconds into overtime at Madison Square Garden to give the Isles a 4-3 win.
At the time, it was the fastest goal in NHL Stanley Cup Playoff history. Parise had been acquired on Jan. 5, 1975, from the Minnesota North Stars along with Jude Drouin, who set up Parise's game and series-ending goal.
🔗 There’s danger in the Islanders becoming the champs of NHL free agency by Ethan Sears, New York Post “In case you need a reminder, the Predators won the July 1 championship a year ago, when they brought in Steven Stamkos (4 years, $32 million), Jonathan Marchessault (5 years, $27.5 million) and Brady Skjei (7 years, $49 million). After six straight seasons without a playoff series victory, the Predators’ moves echoed around the league like a bachelorette party on Broadway.”
🔗 Rangers and Islanders are headed in the same direction — down and out by Arthur Staple, The Athletic “The two New York teams have not really dignified themselves this year. We’ve catalogued it all, from the Rangers’ 12-4-1 start to general manager Chris Drury’s “make me an offer” group text to one of the most miserable stretches of winter hockey the Rangers have played in a couple of decades”
And we leave you with this ….Tommy Cutlets at UBS Arena
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