The Isles had another strong week, collecting 5 of 6 points vs the Oilers, Caps, and Canes. Sean and Stefen discussed how the Isles keep making it happen and whether they can keep it up for the rest of the season. Ethan Sears of the NY Post joined to chime in on the Isles play, Lou’s work to keep the Isles afloat and who’s the biggest threat to chase the Isles towards the top of the Metro standings!
2:30 – Sean asks Stefen for his take on the Isles’ last week of play, starting with their first game against the Oilers. The Isles won 3-1, holding a soaring Oilers offense to just one goal. They found a way to hold the lead in this game, and even though Stefen mentioned their “turtling” in the third period, they pulled through.
7:00 – Sean and Stefen talk about the Islanders’ second game of the past week, which came against the Capitals. Throughout the entire game, they never seemed to find their legs, a common trend on the second leg of back-to-backs. They lost in overtime, but found a way to salvage a point by coming back in the third period with a huge goal from Anders Lee.
9:00 – They also talked about the return of Oliver Wahlstrom, who took the place of Julien Gauthier after he took a “stick to the eyeball.” Wahlstrom, who was the only fresh player in that Washington game, failed to stick out. When posed with the question of whether to keep Wally or insert Gauthier back into the lineup for their next game against Carolina, Lane Lambert put Gauthier back in, a telling sign for Wahlstrom’s limited role on this team.
12:30 – Sean and Stefen discuss the Islanders win over Carolina, where they managed to hang onto a win in the third period.
“The encouraging thing is, that on a fairly consistent basis now as we get deeper into the season, they’re scoring goals week to week now. Their goals-for average keeps creeping up: now they’re about 3.16 GF/G. Yes, the goals against are still up as well, but they’re finding ways to squeeze one or two points out of most of these games.”
– Sean Cuthbert on the Islanders potent offense
17:00 – Ethan Sears joins the show!
38:00 – Stefen and Sean talk about the credit that Lou Lamoriello deserves for filling holes that this team most certainly needed. If you told fans that Pelech, Pulock and Mayfield would go down and the team would stay afloat, it would be hard to believe. Lou found a hidden gem in Mike Reilly, who has most likely earned himself a starting six job when everyone is healthy. He went out and got veteran Robert Bortuzzo for pennies on the dollar, who has been a serviceable veteran presence, certainly helping youngster Sam Bolduc steady out. Horvat has been excellent so far, and for a protected first, Anthony Beauvilliver (who was moved for a fifth rounder), and Aatu Raty (who is playing fourth line center in the AHL), it was certainly a bargain. It is very encouraging to see them rise in the conference, given the injuries.
46:00 – Stefen points out the points that Mat Barzal, Bo Horvat, Noah Dobson and Brock Nelson have produced. Barzal, Horvat and Dobson are at a point-per-game pace, Nelson leads the team in goals and is just under that point-per-game pace. Dobson is eating minutes, and has played a staggering 15 straight games with more than 25 minutes of ice time.
50:00 – The boys talk about Mike Reilly’s impact, whose skating ability has allowed the Islanders to have a different look on breakouts. He’s been a phenomenal addition to the defense, who has taken his job and run with it.
53:00 – What’s on Tap!
The Islanders face the Penguins on Wednesday night, the Capitals on Friday, and the Penguins again on Sunday.
59:00 – Hero of the Week!
Stefen’s Pick: Ilya Sorokin
Sean’s Pick: Anders Lee
1:11:00 – Questions Brewin’!
Catch Hockey Night in New York with hosts Sean Cuthbert and Stefen Rosner live from Floored Media in Rockville Centre Sunday nights at 8PM ET throughout the season.