Islanders News: Preseason ends with an OT loss to the Rangers

The preseason is officially over, and it went out with a bang and a whimper for the New York Islanders. In a back and forth, wildly offensive affair, the New York Rangers pulled out the win in overtime thanks to a Filip Chytil hat trick and three power play goals.

The Islanders dressed what will likely be their opening night lineup and conceded three power play goals on five penalty kills, so not ideal. But it’s preseason, so who care? On the bright side, each of Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal scored two goals, with Barzal getting the tying goal in the final minute of regulation.

The real thing starts Tuesday for the league and Thursday for us—at the Carolina Hurricanes, whom we will likely battle for the Metro Division title.

Islanders News

• A quick recap of the preseason finale from the team [Islanders] followed by their classic 5 Takeaways, among which are that Lee and Barzal are ready to go. [Islanders]
• It wasn’t their best game, but coach Barry Trotz said that a performance like that is a good wake-up call ahead of the real thing.

• There are a couple question marks in Matt Martin and Semyon Varlamov that might change parts of last night’s lineup, but if they can’t go on Thursday, what you saw last night will probably be what you see in Carolina. [LHH | Newsday]
• The cancelation of Thursday’s game against the New Jersey Devils probably cost some fringe guys, like Anatolii Golyshev and Kieffer Bellows, a final chance to make a lasting impression. [Newsday]
• Some of those guys, though, might be on the move. GM Lou Lamoriello has been working the phones looking to trade guys with value that he will otherwise have to waive, probably guys like Bellows or Sebastian Aho. [Newsday]
• Five keys for the Islanders this season, including surviving the long trip early in the season and the return of the captain. [Newsday]
• The Islanders certainly will be able to benefit from Zach Parise and Zdeno Chara in terms of on-ice results, but there is so much more that the two veterans can provide to this team, too. [The Athletic]
• Some bold predictions for this season, the last of which has the Islanders winning the Stanley Cup. [Yahoo]
• Which would be good, because even though they won’t say it, the Islanders know that it’s Stanley Cup or bust this season. [Newsday]
• Fortunatetly, The Athletic’s staff at least sees the Islanders as tied for the most likely Eastern Conference finalist and third-likeliest Cup winner. [The Athletic]
• The NHL site’s staff agrees, although I don’t know if the percentages are the same. But the Islanders are sexy Eastern Conference and Cup winning picks this year, which has never happened in my lifetime. [NHL]
• Some bold fantasy hockey predictions for each team, including Ilya Sorokin leading the league in save percentage and shutouts. [NHL]
• Among the storylines for this upcoming season are the Islanders’ new arena opening and whether they’ll be able to get over the hump and into the Stanley Cup Final this season. [NHL]
• LISTEN: The Friday episode of 32 Thoughts, when they do their interviews, featured our very own Anders Lee, who is a good interviewee and tried his damnedest to return to the lineup in the playoffs. Seth Jones is a pretty good interviewee, as well. [Sportsnet]

Elsewhere

• The season is about to start, so of course there is renewed interest in a Jack Eichel trade. [LeBrun @ The Athletic]
• Brooksie says the only that the Rangers get involved with Eichel is if they realize that pending UFA Mika Zibanejad, who has high contract demands, won’t be coming back. Brooksie also has some short but rather scathing words to say about Team USA. [NY Post]
• And literally the moment before this article published, Brooksie sent out the following tweet announcing that Zibanejad has signed an extension. So Eichel is surely out of the question for the Rangers now.

• Hockey returning to ESPN has given goosebumps to members of the network’s staff, those that always loved hockey, like Long Islanders Linda Cohn and Steve Levy. [Newsday]
• Unfortunately, part of the return to ESPN creates a complicated TV schedule. But it’s one that should be less expensive, overall, and one that we’ll all get used to. [Newsday]
• Is this the year that the Islanders reach the Final? That the Toronto Maple Leafs finally win a round? And does Marc-Andre Fleury still have it? Those questions and more when we return! [Sportsnet]
• I had seen this story pop up and waved it off, but I’m glad I took the time to read it: the curious case of Popi, a former Devils draft pick that quit hockey to become an influencer. [The Athletic]