Islanders News: Leading 3-0 is so sweep, I mean sweet

Adam Pelech played a team-high 22:10 in Game 3, touched the puck I don’t know how many times, and made countless more decisions in all three zones. I can’t remember a single mistake.

It was another outstanding game from a guy who increasingly appears to have been a key stabilizing force for the team this season. Their late-season slump very much overlapped with his injury. His return to health is a big part of why the entire team is able to maintain a continuous flow of Trotzy Hockey. He handles the top guys, he disrupts rushes, he keeps the puck in, and he increasingly plays the puck wisely, too.

Oh, by the way: The Islanders are up 3-0 in the series after a thrilling Mathew Barzal overtime winner over the Washington Capitals yesterday. So many shots of a whining, mouth-breathing Tom Wilson acting like a victim.

I trust you slept well.

Check back later this morning for another Islanders Anxiety podcast, as Mike and Dan relish the good times.

Islanders News

• Recaps of Game 3: LHH | Newsday | Isles | NHL | Japers’ Rink
• Semyon Varlamov was outstanding, particularly on breakaways, like the one he stopped just before Barzal’s winner. [Isles]
• The Beth Best Fourth Line In Hockey, or “Identity Line,” has really come together these last few games. [Isles]
• The Skinny: “The Isles have allowed fewer than 30 shots in 8 straight games for the first time since an 8-game stretch in April-May 1984.” [Isles]
• Ovechkin makes like a Monty Python skit and says they’re not dead yet. [NBC]
• This rivalry simmers nicely. [Isles]
• Notebook: Great game for Pelech, Capitals lineup changes don’t pay off. [Newsday]

This is actually an interesting little detail. #announcinginapandemic:

Elsewhere

Lots of other scores yesterday. The Stars won in overtime to tie their series with the Flames, 2-2. The Flyers eked out a 1-0 victory to go up 2-1 on the Canadiens. The Blackhawks escaped a sweep with a 3-1 win over Vegas, and the Blues — who play again tonight — dodged a Capital-sized hole by beating the Canucks 3-2 in overtime.

• Deep stats from all the games yesterday, including the Islanders’ win. [On the Forecheck]
• Manny Malhotra, top coaching candidate? Perhaps as revealing, the moment of heat with Ken Hitchcock that turned the former top pick into a key defensive specialist. [Sportsnet]

Moment of Zen

Sound up, this is the sound of sudden-death victory: