It wasn’t a perfect game but the New York Islanders scored a 4-3 comeback victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Noah Dobson continues his outstanding play and Simon Holmstrom potted the game winner on a shorthanded tally late in the third period. The Isles also got strong goaltending from Semyon Varlamov. There were some issues as well including a letdown after taking a 2-0 lead.
We have our hero and goat of the game and our key takeaways as the Isles won their fourth straight game.
Plus, we have our weekly Farm Report on all things Bridgeport Islanders.
All this and a lot more on today’s Locked On Islanders Podcast with Gil Martin.
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37 Comments
That 1st Ranger Isle game will b vicious
I am still in agreement that Lambert and Lou need to be fired and this team needs a full rebuild and now that these players are playing better makes them more valuable in a trade. This team is temporarily doing well but they still may not make the playoffs and if they do they will be done in 4-5 games in the 1st round, This is not about a quick fix. This should be about winning the cup and this team is not winning the cup without a full rebuild. This is like when your dentist tells you that you need root canal but you only want a simple filling. The reality is you need root canal. In this case if you really want to win a cup before the Rangers you need a full rebuild NOW and if Ledecky refuses to rebuild then he should sell the team.
Isles get another win. Isles gf has jumped from 28th to 22nd. ga has fallen to 14th. What does this say? Are isles transitioning to more offensive team while sacrificing d to do it? That could explain the blown leads. Or is this just a case of several fwds. getting hot at the same time? The improved pp helps. Or is having 3 and 6 out of the line up the reason for this? Taking shut down pairing out brings out more offense? 2 is active on the blue line and shoots. With 13 over ppg and 14, 8 just under ppg now is the time louzer should strike while that trio is hot and go add that scorer to compliment 13, 14 to give offense a big boost. Word out of laffland is laffs are looking for d help. Trade 3 or 6 for willie n. Or sell high on 10 in trade for a scorer. You know louzer has that first waiting to deal. Now would be a good time to get that scorer while relieving some cap term on d with isles hot before road trips cool isles and their hot offense down. Don't know if/how long this scoring pace will continue. And they don't seem to miss 3 or 6. 3 is wearing down-move now for scorer. 14/13, 19 g. 21, 29, 18, 24 g has cooled down. 13/14 could be something with added scorer-legit top line. And dump 26 NOW who can't even crack line-up.
Isles hot-now 2nd metro tied for 4th in east. 7-1-2 last 10. W 4 in a row. Yet 7 loser pt. losses thanks to blown leads tied for most with kraken.
Oh well i'm just babbling shit that wont happen because the probability of louzer pulling off trade isn't very good.
still getting disorganized in their own zone with opposing pressure. Didn't notice it too much in the Toronto game, but was apparent tonight.
No wally again tonight. You think he's being shopped? (Wally for Kuzzie out of Vancouver maybe??) Horvat and Kuzzie reunited
When I saw the score get to 4-3. All I could think about was your prediction. So close. Thanks Gil, great job!
My teams New York Islanders are winning teams they will never give up this season
Never been more concerned about a 2nd place team in my life…another 2 goal lead blown but got the win, good job
Bruins on deck…that will be a good test
When is pollock back? Any word?
Every game seems to go to the wire. Crazy Holmström does another shg, making it 4. The last 20 seconds seemed like 5 mins. We need to stop giving away leads, especially when we are outshooting opposition. Another win to bolster our streak.
Maybe guys like Pelech & Pulock are too comfortable Gil? I mean I have no issue moving forward with Reily and Bartuzzo it seems they are more disciplined I also have no issue with scratching the supposed stars ( Pel & Pul)until injury or rest is needed.. Your thoughts?
4 in a row!! Funny that they sign Reilly of Waivers and he may be the puck moving defenseman they needed! He’s looked pretty damn good for a waiver wire signee, bortuzo is the physics defenseman they could use too. I think they are helping a lot. Dobson looking good too! Holmstrom is a PK ace! Hopefully they turned a corner
Simon Holmstrom 2024!!!😊👍
Let's see against Ratboy…and the (B)ruins🤔🙏
Consider this… they could collapse after blowing leads…but they are obviously resilient. It's a good team…
Simon Mymon with the snipe!!! Loving it!!
Love that Shortenin bread
It's not just the speed…its the positioning with these guys with a long reach
Love the Varly chants at the end…Barzal said the other night that they were pissed after the SJ game
To quote Alec Baldwin on SNL…get mad you SOB's….lols
I've noticed Horvats facial expressions have changed for the better…his shoes are broken in…lols
I don't like when they don't tell us a player's injury. I hate being left in the dark and its inappropriate.
Good morning Gil, I thought the islanders played okay ✅ a win 🥇 is a win 🏆 Gibson made a lot saves 🎉🎉 I guess Lou was right! We needed more scoring from horvat and barzal and we are getting that 😊 plus two goals were taken away. Let’s see what happens with Boston 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉thanks Gil and go islanders ❤
I am glad the Isles are finding a way to string some wins together. Physicality, produciton across the lines, and a significant wining streak were the prescription for our 2 Conference Final seasons a few years ago. Gives me some hope. However, I am still confounded by the group mental sags that this team goes through. With as many 3rd period melt downs this year you would think they would or could sense it coming after the Ducks first goal and step it back up. They did not and I don't understand it. They adjusted between periods 2 and 3 but seem to be unable to adjust mid-period. If there was a single consistant goat or two maybe it is more explainable. They seem to rise and fall mentally as a group. It confounds me. They have grit and Ihope it just keeps going. A cushion is going to be needed I think to get themt to the finish line.
Ha ha Let’s go Islanders, half way through a winning December !!! Perfect show Gil you nailed it once again Dobson, Holstrom, these defenseman signed on and are earning there money, players are seeming to find their way ! Bring on Boston!
It's always a good sign when you have a bunch of injured starters, and you're not playing great hockey but still winning games. LGI
It's always a good sign when you have a bunch of injured starters, and you're not playing great hockey but still winning games. LGI
Gm Gil. Against a bottom team the Isles played to the level of their competition and that 2nd period was very typical Isles .. they took a penalty which led to a goal and then stopped skating leading to a couple of turnovers that then resulted in a 3-2 deficit. what pleased me was the Isles tying then taking the lead with a short handed goal. Could you imagine what this team would look like if they had an Austin Mathews , Jack Hughes, or Leon Draisaitl? Not sure what changed but Matt Barzal has really upped his game and there are several players on this team who deserve serious all start consideration
Good morning team. Gil, Loved this episode. Holmstrom with another short handed goal. Fun to watch. A few of the Ducks goals, you really can't blame anyone for them. Off a skate, rebound right in front of the net. Islanders have scored a few of those type of goals in the past as well. I love how almost everyone has an extra stride in their skating lately. She what winning does for a player's confidence. I hope they keep this trend going. I'm pretty superstitious so I'm not going to use the words winning streak. We have a tough test coming up. Looking forward to a strong performance. Have a great day! We'll talk about Boston some more tomorrow. Until then.. Let's Go Islanders!!
I thought they played down to the Ducks and got lucky. Low energy and turning the puck over so often they looked like a delivery service. They were so uncoordinated I started thinking 3 forwards were on IR, not 3 defensemen. Once in a while they would get it together and actually skate around a defender's stick. They should have blown these guys out, but failed against the other bottom feeder SJ. Holmstrom saved their asses. Boston will humiliate them if they play like this on Friday.
People can say "It's the Ducks" but the Isles would have lost this game a month ago. 9-2-1 in their last 12? I don't care how they get it done right now. Yes, they play down to competition at times but they also rise up to meet the better team and that's something else they didn't do in the first couple of months.
Islanders seem to be better without Pelech along with Puloch so that can free up a lot of cap space to upgrade in other areas. They seem to lose games they should win or are winning when should be losing. Kings game it was like they just sorta got breaks. Yet it was like they kept getting penalties but LAK had Byfield on the PP so didn't score. Even with Rangers it wasn't until he was in box for Danault to get one over Quick. Who should have been on the poll as is vastly best goalie in NY over Igor or Sorokin hehe. Guy has like 8 Wins without a Regulation Loss for a reason behind same team. I'm not happy the Ducks game was on delay or the non HD channel. Devils was blacked out on TV. Anytime they have a 2 or 3 goal lead they seem to lose the game. Also when drop the gloves the Other Team Scores Next like that Lee game among others ;).
I say you go all in on Friday night. Play that game like a playoff game and really show you can matchup with the best teams in this league. Bostons coming off a game they really should’ve won so they’re gonna be in a bad mood. Good. I want their best and I want this team to give 100%. Winning that game does wonders for the confidence of our guys, especially the young players. Really looking forward to it
Hi Gil, heck of a show! This infusion of speed and some skill has saved the season. So did Lou save the season? Maybe but he’s gotta go. This is not the way to build a Cup winner. I’m happy we are winning but this is this team’s last year together. I’m excited because at least the season might be exciting and fun. Sucks to lose, especially how we were losing. This coach survived a firing I don’t know how. I’d bring in Berube in a heartbeat. Don’t know if I like the pairing of Aho and Reilley together. When Pellech and Pullock return, do we begin losing again? We were losing with them. I’m not saying to get rid of these guys but if we do start losing—something does not add up. Bolduc has had a glorious opportunity and I feel Bortuzzo has helped him but I don’t trust him. I guess when they come back, Bortuzzo sits. Mayfield? Think he was part of the reason we were losing as well. Slow and giveaway after giveaway. I’m concerned Gil. What do we do? Scott for 2 years is ok—-but he’s had a crap year. Do we go back to the pairs that were around for all those blown leads? I would not!! Matty is sitting and so can Mayfield. Pellech and Pullock start giving away pucks—-they sit too!! Accountability needs to be infused. There has been none. Whally? Man he’s looked slow and ineffective. Holmstrom is becoming the player that we wanted Whally to be. You know I was down on Holmstrom but boy has he shocked me!! Let’s try and keep winning boys but this needs to change regardless. It feels great to win! Let’s get behind this team and see where this can go. Ps—Taking Reilley out of the line up when they all return would solidify the Count as a moron!! Take care Gil!
A few points. Their PK is still a problem. Although some of that might be because of depleted D core. To me last night was almost a must win because they could play very well against the Bruins tomorrow and still lose. About JP Parise. He was also a member of Team Canada in the Summit Series against the Soviet Union in 1972.
Isles are winning! They can play against any team. Scrappy team! Palmieri scoring, Horvat and Barzal playing great. Solid team right now. Moving up!!!!
Funny how isles bring in two guys due to ir dispatched by other teams and suddenly get hot Not a coincedence two guys on $1 mill. and $900,000 one year deals are playing well, especially 2, after being cast-off. No coincedence they aren't on lifetime deals louzer likes to marry himself to who get lazy stale with cushy deals. 2 needs to remain in d six, over aho. Bortuzzo? 7th d man when 3, 6 return.. Keep aho in ahl for call-up. Now do something with 26. Dude is useless if he can't crack line-up. His $800,000 deal is easy to keep out of line-up for cap constraint purposes. Is that why or is 26 now just a bust that needs to be dealt?