Half Full or Half Empty? Guest: Dan Robertson, TSN

January 15, 2024
Posted in Show Recaps
January 15, 2024 Ava Salti

The Isles had another rough week, going 1-2 against the Canucks, Maple Leafs and Predators. Sean and Stefen discussed how the Isles keep making the same mistakes and spend time breaking down the brutal loss in Nashville. Dan Robertson of TSN joined to chime in on the upcoming matchup against the team he announces for – the Winnipeg Jets.

3:00 – Sean and Stefen dive right into the last week of play for the Isles, where they went 1-2, including a brutal loss in Nashville on Saturday night. Against the Canucks, Casey Cizikas went down and the Canucks proved why they are one of the league’s best, giving the Islanders no chance to win the game. Against Toronto, the Islanders came back from 3-1 to win 4-3 in overtime, and Noah Dobson and Mat Barzal both had four points apiece. 

9:00 – The boys jump into the fresh topic of the show, the most recent loss against the Nashville Predators. The game was scoreless going into the third period, until JG Pageau tipped in the 1-0 lead. After that, it all unraveled. The Preds tied it up on the power play, and a late-game blunder by Matt Martin directly led to the game winner with 8 seconds left in the game. A lot of fans questioned why Martin was even out there after just finishing up a prior shift (he took 2 of the final 3 shifts in the 3rd), but regardless, that clearance needs to be made.

16:30 – On the Line presented by A1 VIP Entertainment!

Dan Robertson of TSN, play-by-play announcer for the Winnipeg Jets joins the show to discuss all things Jets. They’ve had an incredible first half of their season and Robertson breaks it down ahead of their upcoming Islanders matchup this week. 

“The Islanders came within 17 or so seconds of at least having a pretty good week (points in 2 of 3) after the week previous, after the road trip that they had. It would have been a nice bounce back point heading into their next week, another road trip.”

– Sean Cuthbert on the impact of the loss in Nashville

32:30 – Stefen breaks down the final seconds of the Predators game, where social media caught steam of most of the Islanders leaving the bench early. The Predators scored an empty net goal with 0.2 seconds left, the buzzer went off, and as far as all the Islanders and their coaches knew, the game was over. Five guys went out there to see time expire and Bo Horvat stayed out there to see his teammates finish it up.

36:00 – After Cizikas’ injury against the Canucks, Lambert decides to shake up the lines and move Barzal back to center instead of calling up a fourth line center from the AHL. Holmstrom and Palmieri skated alongside Barzal, Fashing and Engvall alongside Nelson, Lee and Wahlstrom alongside Horvat, and Martin and Clutterbuck alongside Pageau. The lines looked good against the Maple Leafs and Predators. Speaking of their structure, Stefen points out that their game against Predators, was their best of the season. Pelech and Mayfield looked their best, so it makes it that much worse that the game ended the way it did. 

43:00 – What’s on Tap!

The Islanders head into Minnesota on Monday night, Winnipeg on Tuesday night, and then in Chicago on Friday night. 

48:30 – Hero of the Week!

Sean’s pick: Mat Barzal

Stefen’s pick: Noah Dobson

55:00 – 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.