Islanders at Blue Jackets Gameday News + Thread: Cannon fodder

Nov 25, 2022 - 7:15 PM

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Happy Black Friday, Lighthouse Hockey. And I hope it was a happy Thanksgiving.

This year, I am thankful for many things, but in terms of hockey, I am thankful for Ilya Sorokin. He was a monster on Wednesday night. Being there in person, I was excited to watch the New York Islanders, of course, but especially excited to see Connor McDavid work some magic.

He did, but Sorokin was even better. The saves he made were incredible. He is on another level this season. To give credit where it’s due, though, the Islanders looked good. It was the best I’ve ever seen a team play in giving up 50 shots.

Tonight, the Islanders visit the last-place Columbus Blue Jackets and their damn cannon. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Islanders hosted the Jackets and beat them 4-3 in OT on a nice play by J-G Pageau and Zach Parise, who also made a pretty play on Wednesday night. Tonight’s an 8:00 p.m. ET start, and it is not clear yet who will be in goal. FIGs go here.

Islanders News

About Wednesday night:

• Sorokin is a god among mortals. [3 Takeaways] And also an excellent interview.
• J-G Pageau scored a shorthanded goal set up beautifully by Zach Parise and, a couple of minutes later, a power play goal. Sebastian Aho had the third marker on a great play from Oliver Wahlstrom. [LHH]
• The league kept changing the shot total and finally settled on 49 shots. [Newsday]
• Sorokin knows there are no guarantees in this league, such as not knowing who’s playing tonight. Though he was in the “starter’s” net today. [Newsday]
• Kyle Palmieri missed Wednesday’s game, listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, but that meant that Simon Holmstrom made his NHL debut. [Newsday | Isles DTD]
• Lots of good stuff in Eric Hornick’s Skinny after a historic Sorokin shutout. [NYI Skinny]

Moving on:

• A preview of tonight’s game in ‘Lumbus. I don’t think anyone there calls it that, but it’s fun to say. Like the scientific name of a cloud.
• Here’s how they looked this morning. It’s a single-game trip, and Palmieri stayed back on Long Island, so Holmstrom will probably stay in. Adam Pelech took some maintenance but should play (although Palmieri was expected to play on Wednesday too, so...).

• Kevin Kurz answered mailbag questions about Lane Lambert, potential trade candidates, and more. [The Athletic]
• Pageau has revitalized the top power-play unit since being put back on it and coupled with his defensive and PK and faceoff abilities, he is showing his versatility again after a down season recovering from wrist surgery last year. [The Athletic]
• Thomas Hickey has been a revelation on the broadcast and had discussed working games this summer. But he wanted to give playing another go first. The story of how he ended up behind the desk (or, on some road games, next to the glass). [NY Po$t]

Elsewhere

No NHL games yesterday for the holiday, but Wednesday was jam-packed and featured the Rangers allowing the lowly Ducks their first regulation win. Today is jam-packed, as well.

• The Predators were supposed to host the Avalanche tonight, but a water main broke at Bridgestone Arena, flooding it. Tonight’s game is postponed, and tomorrow’s game against the Blue Jackets might be, as well. [AP-ESPN]
• Since they’re missing three of their six regular defensemen, the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Conor Timmins from the Arizona Coyotes. [Sportsnet]
• More trade news: Ryan Reaves had become the odd man out on the Rangers’ fourth line, so they shipped him to the Minnesota Wild for a fifth-round pick. [NHL]
• Goalie Pyotr Kochetkov, who played his 12th NHL game on Wednesday night and gave up three goals to the Coyotes, got a four-year, $2 million AAV contract extension. [NHL]
• Borje Salming passed away at the age of 71, likely due to his ALS. It’s amazing that he was able to have that ceremony a couple of weeks ago. Rest in peace. [ESPN]
• Elliotte Friedman opened his abbreviated 32 Thoughts with a memory of Salming in a 1976 playoff series between the Leafs and the two-time defending champion Flyers. [Sportsnet]