Islanders News: Two and oh!

In shutting out the Arizona Coyotes 1-0, the New York Islanders won the first two games of their season for the first time since 2014-15. That doesn’t mean much, although it is always important to bank points. But standings points notwithstanding, it is nice for us as fans when our team starts off strong.

For the last eight seasons, we’ve walked away from the first two Islander games of the year 1-1 or worse, which “dampens the mood,” as Noah Dobson said post-game. It certainly can’t hurt to keep the good vibes going.

Islanders News

About last night:

• Ilya Sorokin didn’t have too much work to do, but he stood tall when he needed to, and he earned another shutout to climb the franchise ranks. [LHH]
• It’s his first of the season only two games into the season. [THN]
• Sorokin didn’t have much work to do because the Islanders defended superbly. [3 Takeaways]
• Just 14 saves as a matter of fact, and only seven through two periods. [NY Post]
• To top it off, they scored a power-play goal. Specifically, Mat Barzal scored mere seconds into an early second-period power play, and it held up. [Newsday]
• Hopefully, that’s a sign of things to come: a successful power play and Barzal becoming a goal-scoring threat. [amNY]
• Scott Mayfield, who hasn’t practiced the last couple of days, missed last night’s game and is day-to-day. [Islanders | Newsday]
• That meant Samuel Bolduc drew back in. He did okay. The team wants him to be assertive. [THN]
• Basic stats and game notes. [NHL] Barzal’s goal was his 17th career GWG. [NYI Skinny]
• Hear from Dobson and Sorokin. [Islanders]
• This was a nice touch:

Not just about last night:

• Last night’s game was also Matt Martin’s 900th career game. Pretty wild to play that many games in his role in this day and age. Proud of the Mayor for making the most of it. [Islanders | amNY | THN]
• Other than Manhattan, Newark, and Philadelphia, the Islanders’ radio crew of Chris King and Greg Picker will not be traveling for Islanders road games this season. They’ll call the other 36 games remotely. [Newsday | NY Post]
• It was against the ‘Yotes last season that Kyle Palmieri, fresh off missing 10 games, returned to the lineup, only to leave that game and miss the next 17 games. That won’t ruin his fun, though. [Newsday]
• Ruslan Iskhakov is off to another fast start with five points in the Bridgeport Islanders’ first two games, which they split, both on the road. One more road game before heading home. [Islanders]
• The latest episode of Islanders Award Winners profiles goalie Mark Fitzpatrick earning the 1992 Masterton Trophy. And boy did he earn it. [LHH]

Elsewhere

Last night’s NHL scores include the Buffalo Sabres in OT winning their first game of the season, but not without allowing the Tampa Bay Lightning to tie it with seconds on the clock. Also, Pierre-Luc Dubois scored in his return to Winnipeg as the Los Angeles Kings beat the Jets.

• Montreal Canadiens forward Kirby Dach, acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks with the pick the Islanders sent Montreal for Alex Romanov, will see his season end as soon as it begins—he tore his ACL and MCL and is done for the year. [NHL]
• Freddie Andersen took a shot off his mask against the San Jose Sharks, so the Carolina Hurricanes sat him for the rest of the game as a precaution. [NHL]
• Rather inconsequential trade between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the guys who used to work for the Pens who are now with the Vancouver Canucks: Jack Rathbone goes to Pittsburgh while Mark Friedman goes to Vancouver, along with another swap of guys. [ESPN]
• Something to hate on and/or point and laugh at: ESPN’s rankings of the top 100 players for this season.