After a two-game winning streak, the guys are back to recap the week and dive into some New York Islanders’ hockey.
1:38 — The Islanders started the season 0-3 and the guys break down the rough start before getting into the wins.
5:40–The guys shift to the win streak, starting off with Thursday night’s win against the Edmonton Oilers, with Bo Horvat scoring his first hat trick as an Islander (second of his career).
9:19 – Sean shifts the focus to the “new blood,” in which this week has seen Maxim Shabanov, Jonathan Drouin, and Emil Heineman come up big for the Island as well as Matthew Schaefer’s recent performances.
15:05 – After a turbulent first year with the team, Anthony Duclair has seemingly picked up where he left off before his critical injury, and his contributions haven’t gone unnoticed as the guys discuss his play as of late.
15:57 – The conversation shifts to Maxim Tsyplakov being benched by Patrick Roy and how this controversial decision could shape the bottom six.
17:33 – Sean transitions to the special teams, who have had their ups and downs with the power play performing, but the penalty kill ultimately continues to struggle.
20:46—To wrap up the segment, Sean asks Arthur what his current concerns are for the team after 5 games played.
24:46 – Arthur’s Anthem
With five games in the books, Arthur chose his latest musical theme to describe what Islander fans must be feeling after a rollercoaster stretch of games.
25:08 – To showcase how old mistakes continue to plague the Islanders, Arthur chose Sunliner’s “Old Habits” to illustrate the mood surrounding the team. Listen on Spotify below.
Arthur chooses “Old Habits” by Sunliner to describe the recent Islanders’ performance
“The Islanders are giving up 8.4 high danger chances a game, that’s 32nd. The 31st team is giving up 7. That’s a big gap between 32 & 31.”
– Arthur on high danger chances against
26:53 – On the Line: Ilya Sorokin – presented by Raiser, Kenniff, & Lonstein
Ilya Sorokin has struggled as of late, and the guys begin by diagnosing what is plaguing the franchise netminder.
29:48 – Sean & Arthur discuss the potential mental game Sorokin might be playing on and off the ice, where the stress of being the number 1 guy could be getting to him as the team overly depends on him from time-to-time.
32:09 – Sorokin has been considered a top-5 goaltender for most of his career, but he has struggled since returning from his back surgery. The guys discuss the numbers and play that he must clean up to return to the Vezina-caliber goalie that fans are used to.
35:46– What’s on Tap?
Tuesday (10/21) vs San Jose, 7:00pm – The Sharks are the only winless team in the league and will be hungry to get their first victory of the season. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky joked that he would give up one of his kids to get a win. The Islanders will entertain Macklin Celebrini and potentially this year’s second overall pick in Michael Misa, who could be facing off against Matthew Schaefer.
Thursday (10/23) vs Detroit, 7:00pm – The Red Wings have taken their division by storm and currently sit at its summit. Arthur takes some time to showcase Emmitt Finney, who had a three-point game (2-1-3) against the Oilers Sunday afternoon. John Gibson, who was traded by the Anaheim Ducks this offseason, could be facing off against the Islanders with the usual trio of Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, and Moritz Seider.
Saturday (10/25) @ Philadelphia, 12:30pm – The Flyers are in their first season under new coach in Rick Tocchet, who is looking to provide stability to a team with limited direction. Philadelphia has most of their strength on the wing but lacks depth at center, which is where the Islanders could take advantage in addition to the Flyers’ limited goaltending.
Tuesday (10/28) @ Boston, 7:15pm – Boston is a team that has fallen from grace over the past few years, but has not lost their unwavering determination to compete. The Bruins are experimenting with a new roster, but have a decent bottom-six that can grind down opposing teams, whereas the Islanders will need to use their speed to outmaneuver them.
Join us Tues 10/28 at Borrelli’s in Long Beach!
43:05 – Hero of the Week! presented by NOK Hockey
Arthur’s Pick: Bo Horvat is Arthur’s clear pick this week after the star center put up a hat trick against the Edmonton Oilers and has continued to provide the team with the scoring firepower it has needed.
Sean’s Pick: Sean bestows his pick to the Captain, Anders Lee, who scored the game-winning goal against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday afternoon and has continued to lead this team through their 2-3 start.
46:45 – Welcome to the Snake Den! with Jake “The Snake” Radonis
Jake offers his take by highlighting the Bridgeport Islanders and their 1-2-1 start to the season, which is a much better start than the catastrophe that was last year.
49:20 – Jake dives into some college hockey, where he focuses on Cole Eiserman and Kamil Bednarik, who have had superb starts to their season with Boston University.
50:13 – Up in Juniors, 4th round draft pick and now the current first overall pick of the CHL import draft, Tomas Poletin, is putting on a show with the Kelowna Rockets with 6 goals and 3 assists for 9 points in 8 games.
50:45 – Not too far away in the OHL, Kashawn Aitcheson currently has 6 goals and 5 assists in 11 games as the number 1 defenseman of the Barrie Colts.
53:19 – The guys switch over to Marshall Warren and Isaiah George, who are likely the two prime candidates to be called up on defense if any injuries were to happen on the main squad.
Anders Lee is Sean’s Hero of the Week
55:51 – Questions Brewin’
56:29 – The guys take a look at a poll that was conducted before the show regarding which new addition were Isles fans the most impressed with during this 5-game debut to the season.
56:58 – Do you think the last two games with Schaefer coming down to earth a bit are a result of teams preparing for him, Roy having him be more conservative or natural regression?
59:11 – Is it concerning that Romanov is already nursing injuries and is seemingly the only roster player besides Mayfield that plays physical and edge?
1:00:40 – When his contract expires, do you see McDavid coming here?
1:02:23 – If Isles are in a similar position at the Christmas break, would you let Schaefer go play the WJC?
1:05:06 – Is there any chance the Islanders will not burn Schaefer’s first year of his ELC and send him down?
1:05:25 – Who would be your five on the PP and in what configuration if you had the call?
1:07:47 – Is it time to mix up the D pairs? Separate P & P?
1:10:18 – If the rangers keep playing badly and are relocated to AHL status at the end of the season, would the Isles consider purchasing the team as an alternative to Bridgeport?
1:10:53 – Which prospect are you more excited about: Poletin, Kvasnicka, Eklund, Aitcheson, Nelson, Finley, Prokhorov, or Eiserman?
1:13:02 – Will we see Cole Eiserman after the NCAA season ends?
Catch the latest episode of HNiNY covering the Isles 2-3 start!
Hockey Night in New York is your go-to spot for New York Islanders coverage! Join hosts Sean Cuthbert and Arthur Staple live from Floored Media in Rockville Centre Sundays at 8PM ET on YouTube all season long!