Islanders News: What just happened?; Kid Gloves; Here’s Johnny

I missed the first period of last night’s game because I was on my commute home. When it ended 3-0 Red Wings, I decided I didn’t need to watch the rest. When I saw it was 5-2 Detroit with 10 minutes to go in the third period, I got angry. I suspect many of you did, too. An hour later, the Islanders had won the game and set a bunch of team records in the process. There were smiles and laughs and craziness. And I soaked up as much of it as I could.

An incredible, one-of-a-kind, and much-needed win doesn’t mask any of the Islanders many issues: general looseness with the puck, a reluctance to shoot for long stretches, being unprepared in first periods, a propensity for giving up goals late in games, clueless defensive play and one goalie that needs to be waived today and sent to Bridgeport if only for his own sanity.

This is not a formula for sustained success in the NHL. When your only hope is to win games 7-6, you’re doing something very wrong, whether you’re in a playoff berth for the time being or not. That said, I’m going to enjoy the win and hope it leads to a streak and maybe an awakening to what this team could be if they were as dynamite in their own zone as they are in the other team’s.

Okay, off the soapbox. The Islanders are back at it tomorrow night against Travis Hamonic and the Calgary Flames.

Islanders Stuff

• Recaps: Jenny’s furious recap | Newsday | NY Post | Islanders Takeaways | NHL.com | NYI Skinny | WIIM
• This kid, man:

• This Kid! (BTW Joe Malone was 27 when he did this so, uh, being a ”rookie” back in 1917 meant something slightly different than it does now)

• Welcome back Johnny Boychuk. [Newsday]
• Look, I am not on The Athletic’s payroll. No one in their right mind would pay for my brand of “work.” But it’s articles like this that make the subscription fee worth shelling out for. Justin Bourne breaks down the Islanders’ defensive ineptitude, using video and pictures and humor and a dose of tough but necessary truths. Reminder that Arthur Staple’s articles will being posting at the site on Monday.

• Bridgeport captain Ben Holmstrom will play his 200th straight game today. [CT Post | More Sound Tigers notes]
• Another goal for Kieffer Bellows in Portland’s 3-1 win over Tri-Cities last night. [Winterhawks]
• Part Two of Chris Botta’s evisceration of the culture of undeserved entitlement that Garth Snow has fostered throughout the franchise. [IPB]
• One of the OG Islanders bloggers puts fingers to keyboard again to reach out to Jon Ledecky. [Islesblogger]
• BTW Happy belated birthday to Jon. Quite a party he had in that suite last night.

Other Stuff

• Last night’s NHL scores. Hurricanes and Rangers win, Blue Jackets lose, Islanders in eighth place for now. Tonight: Devils-Jackets is a big one.
• The Senators extended the contract of GM Pierre Dorion and parted ways with team president Tom Anselmi. This is all very curious... [Citizen | Silver Seven]
• Ron Francis has a plan for the Hurricanes. [NHL.com]
• Will we see a surprise trade this deadline? Don’t we hear this every year? I wouldn’t hold my breath. [FanRag]
• Bob McKenzie breaks down the trade deadline outlooks for all 31 teams in a super-sized version of the BobCast. The Islanders section starts around the 1:25:20 mark, but it’s nothing you haven’t heard before.
• The goalie market is not good, especially if you’re the Red Wings. Featuring a few quotes from yours truly. [WIIM]
• One-time Sound Tigers head coach Scott Pellerin is now a key man in the development of future Maple Leafs. [The Athletic]
• Now you can eat the Zdeno Chara way. And no, the answer is not “babies.” Those days are over. [Boston Globe]

And that hair!