Islanders News: The rafters of the Coliseum and/or Belmont are going to be crowded

Yesterday was a thrilling game to watch, but I am sure that Barry Trotz wasn’t loving the sloppy mistakes that were all too frequent and gave the Ducks ample time to score in what was otherwise a well-played game for the Islanders. But they got a point.

Arthur Staple said it was one of their worst games of the year on Twitter, and maybe, in terms of their structure, it was bad. But I’d say the game in Montreal against the Canadiens was worse, or some of the California games. In those games, their structure was lacking, but so was their energy.

At least yesterday, they had the jump and they were on pucks. It really came down to the decision-making, and some of the guys were thinking about what to get their families for Christmas. A couple of better decisions and they win that one in regulation. But, moving on.

Islanders News

Recaps from yesterday’s quacking: LHH | Islanders | Newsday | NHL | NYI Skinny

Trotz felt similarly, that the Islanders played reasonably well but weren’t very tight:

Hey, the building was full. At least they saw a busy game!

• Before the game, Lou Lamoriello announced that Cal Clutterbuck had successful surgery to repair a tendon in his sliced wrist and was out indefinitely. Andrew Ladd was recalled but didn’t dress for the game. [Islanders]
• With John Tonelli and Butch Goring going to the rafters, it’s fair to wonder if anyone else will join them, like Bob Bourne or Pat LaFontaine. Lamoriello is reportedly open to the idea. [Newsday]
• The Sound Tigers blanked the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, giving 2018 third-rounder Jakub Škarek his first North American shutout. Kieffer Bellows scored again, his eighth in his last eleven games, and Josh Ho-Sang, in his first game of the season, assisted on one of Travis St. Denis two goals. [Soundin’ Off pre-game/lines | Sound Tigers post-game]

Ho-Sang also had this to add, which, honestly, I love it:

Tori is quite the cute dog and this baby loves her:

Elsewhere

Last night’s NHL scores include the Flyers beating the Senators in a shootout, the Capitals beating the Lightning 3-1, and both the Hurricanes (to the Panthers) and the Penguins (to the Canucks) losing in regulation.

• The NHL announced its All-Star Captains: Connor McDavid (Oilers, Pacific), Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche, Central), David Pastrnak (Bruins, Atlantic), and the only one over the age of 24 is 34 year-old Alex Ovechkin (Capitals, Metropolitan). [NHL]
• ESPN lists off its top 100 players of the decade, and they actually include McDavid at no. two despite only playing three years of the decade.
• Akim Aliu sparked a real reckoning in the NHL and in hockey culture, in general. There was no breaking point, though, in the accumulation. He just knew he needed to speak up. [AP Newsday]