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NFT: Islanders vs. Blue Jackets @7pm Must See TV

The 12th Man : 2/14/2019 7:18 pm
The Islanders take on the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight. Islanders are coming off a loss to the Sabres. The loss to the Sabres was the 1st Islander loss by more a goal in 2 months. We need to break out of our scoring drought, hopefully we break out tonight. Sorry this is late but it is Valentine’s Day.

The Metropolitan Division standings loom large over Thursday's Islanders-Blue Jackets game. The Islanders (72 points) are five points up on the surging Blue Jackets (67 points), and are well-aware of the importance and implications of the divisional contest.

"This, to me, is going to have a playoff feel," Head Coach Barry Trotz said.

That could be what the Islanders need to fully move past Tuesday's 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, an "outlier" as Anders Lee called it, a game where the Isles strayed from their workmanlike, grinding mentality.

"It was a little bit of an outlier on our part of late. We've been playing pretty good hockey and let one get away," Lee said. "We learned from it, we moved on and we can get back on track tonight. What's exciting about that is that it's a huge divisional game between two teams vying for the top. It'll be pretty easy getting up for this one."

The Blue Jackets are certainly getting up for Thursday's game, so much so that Head Coach John Tortorella said he didn't even need to remind his team about the implications. Columbus just played one of these big games, shutting out the Washington Capitals 3-0 on Tuesday - their fourth-straight win.

"These points are crucial, especially when we're looking up at them," Blue Jackets leading goal scorer Cam Atkinson said. "I'm sure the building is going to be rocking. These points matter, so I'm sure both teams are chomping at the bit to get things going."

Anders Lee is set to hit a mini-milestone on Thursday night, as he suits up for his 400th NHL game.

He's still about seven seasons away from a silver stick, but the 400-game plateau was cause for pause for Lee to take stock of his career to this point.

"We're all living out our dreams right now and it's been an incredible ride," Lee said. "You can't take anything for granted. Just enjoy this. To hit 400 tonight is extremely special."

Of course the goal is to continue as long as he can play and the 1,000-game milestone is on Lee's mind.

"In the back of everyone's heads you want to play as long as you want and that 1,000-game mark is a pretty one that not a lot of guys can achieve in this day and age," Lee said. "You have to play well into your 30s. It's an exciting thing, but [tonight is] just another game really."

Lee has 245 points (142G, 103A) in 399 career games, all with the Islanders. Lee leads the Islanders with 18 goals this season.

Blue Jackets Coach John Tortorella on tonight's game:

"The players know. Everybody knows where the standings are right now and how close it is in both conferences. I think the easiest thing to do is to worry about your own business and take things one day at a time, whether it's a practice day or a game day. They understand how important tonight's game is. I don't have to say a word to them."

Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson on playing at Nassau Coliseum:

"Just walking over, taking a nap, you could see the fans tailgating and it's a pretty special place to play. I've been fortunate to play at that arena before they did the renovations, so I mean as soon as you got out there, especially for warmups and the start of the game, emotions were pretty high, the building was shaking, the bench was shaking and it was one of those games you want to play in."

SEASON SERIES: NYI LEADS 1-0-0

The Islanders beat the Blue Jackets 3-2 on Dec. 1, the Isles return to NYBC Live - Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders rallied out of a 2-0 hole for a 3-2 comeback win. Anders Lee, Anthony Beauvillier and Casey Cizikas scored, while Scott Mayfield and Jordan Eberle each recorded two assists.

The teams meet again on March 11 at NYCB Live and conclude their series on March 26 in Columbus.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

- The Islanders (72 points) are three points ahead of the Washington Capitals (69 points) and five points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Pittsburgh Penguins (67 points).

With both the Islanders and Blue Jackets near the top of the Metro, Thursday's game has seeding implications and is the proverbial four-point game. A win extends the Isles lead over the Blue Jackets to seven points, while a regulation loss closes that gap to three points.

- The Islanders lost their most recent outing 3-1 to the Buffalo Sabres. The loss snapped the Isles three-game winning streak and was the team's second regulation loss in five games (3-2-0). Overall, the Islanders are 9-2-2 in their last 13 contests.

- Casey Cizikas scored his 13th goal of the season on Tuesday, adding to what was already a career-high. Cizikas has 23 points this season and is six points shy of matching his career high (29) set during the 2015-16 season.

- The Islanders have scored one or fewer goals in four of their last seven games (not including shootout winners).

- Nationwide Arena has not been a friendly place to the Islanders, who are 0-4-0 over the past two seasons. Columbus has outscored the Islanders 24-6 over that span.

- Cal Clutterbuck returned to the Islanders lineup on Tuesday after missing two games with an undisclosed injury. Tom Kuhnhackl came out of the lineup for Clutterbuck's return.

- Anders Lee is set to play his 400th career game tonight - all with the Islanders. Lee has 245 points (142G, 103A) in 399 career games and the Isles captain leads the team with 18 goals this season.


BLUE JACKETS NOTES:

- The Blue Jackets have won four straight games and currently sit in third place in the Metropolitan Division (67 points), five points behind the Islanders.

- Artemi Panarin leads the Blue Jackets in assists (42) and points (64), while Cam Atkinson leads the team with 31 goals and is second in points (54).

- Panarin's future with Columbus is murky, as the team's leading scorer has reportedly shut down contract talks until after the season. Panarin will hit unrestricted free agency if he is not signed before July 1.

- Sergei Bobrovsky is also in the last year of his contract and could hit unrestricted free agency this summer. Bobrovsky is a two-time Vezina Trophy winner and is 199-122-27 in his seven years in Columbus. Bobrovsky has won four straight games heading into Thursday's game.

- The Blue Jackets have the league's second-ranked penalty kill at 84.2%.

Go Isles!!!!

Very Nice start to this games by the Islanders  
The 12th Man : 2/14/2019 7:19 pm : link
What a hit by Pelech!
Zeeker  
KDubbs : 2/14/2019 7:23 pm : link
Best 4th line center
Great move by Casey  
The 12th Man : 2/14/2019 7:27 pm : link
1-0.

PP still sucks almost gave up a shorty.
Islanders are Playing looser than I am used  
The 12th Man : 2/14/2019 7:39 pm : link
To seeing them play.
Casey “The Breakaway’”  
The 12th Man : 2/14/2019 8:14 pm : link
2-0!!!!
This is more like the  
The 12th Man : 2/14/2019 8:41 pm : link
Team we have been used to seeing over the last 2 months. Very nice period. 3-0!
I was thinking about this type of performance today  
theold5j : 2/14/2019 9:11 pm : link
And thought if they can do it it would be a real statement win. On the road after a loss and a day of both pens and q qas Washington winning. Pressure was on for them to win tonite
This was the team that was playing  
The 12th Man : 2/14/2019 10:01 pm : link
Before the All Star game. Tonight’s performance is exactly what the doctor ordered. Very impressed with the way they handled this game tonight off a lackluster performance 2 nights ago. 1st period D was a little soft but after that loved their performance. Griess played very well again tonight. Very interested to see what Lou does over the next 10 days.
Amazing stat I just saw  
Mike in Long Beach : 2/15/2019 10:04 am : link
As we all know, Isles had the most goals allowed last year and the least allowed this year. If that holds, they'll be the 1st team in 100 years to go from worst to first in GA, and only the 2nd team ever. The other being the 1917-18 and 1918-19 Ottawa Senators.
Very big response coming off the game in Buffalo on Tuesday  
Mike from Ohio : 2/15/2019 10:25 am : link
Need to get 2pts against the Oilers on Saturday as they will be tough to come by next week in western Canada.

While it is fun to think about what this team could be by adding a Panarin, Duschene or Stone, I am hoping that they don't - at least not as a rental at the trade deadline. This is a solid team with great chemistry. Let's ride this out this year and then add pieces in the offseason.
I think it's worth  
Doubledeuce22 : 2/15/2019 10:51 am : link
taking a shot at one of these rentals. This team can play with anyone because of it's defense and goaltending. If you add a legitimate scorer there is no limit to where this team can go.
RE: I think it's worth  
Mike in Long Beach : 2/15/2019 11:11 am : link
In comment 14297309 Doubledeuce22 said:
Quote:
taking a shot at one of these rentals. This team can play with anyone because of it's defense and goaltending. If you add a legitimate scorer there is no limit to where this team can go.


I agree. The 2014-15 team has been a good reference point for a lot of reasons, IMO. Here are two of them.

1) We should stay level headed about this team. That team had 1 more point at this point in the season than we do now and held first place as late as February 20. We all know how that ended. Crumbled down the stretch, lost home ice, and got knocked out in the first round. So as great as this team has been and as fun as it's been, it can all turn on us very quickly (though I would be shocked if they're not a playoff team at this point).

2) That 2014-15 team added who at the deadline? Tyler Kennedy? And that was a team that had all of us clamoring over the chemistry, too. They had needs and Snow never addressed them. And while chemistry is important... even required... if a team crumbles after adding one player, then I'm not sure how mentally strong they were to begin with. We have enough leadership behind the bench now. Trotz won't let everyone get down on themselves because someone's buddy is a healthy scratch or traded.

If there's a smart move to be made for a goal scorer, we have to make it. Our crappy power play is going to end our season in disappointment without one, IMO. We're too close to something special here to play it conservatively.
RE: RE: I think it's worth  
The 12th Man : 2/15/2019 5:37 pm : link
In comment 14297335 Mike in Long Beach said:
Quote:
In comment 14297309 Doubledeuce22 said:


Quote:


taking a shot at one of these rentals. This team can play with anyone because of it's defense and goaltending. If you add a legitimate scorer there is no limit to where this team can go.



I agree. The 2014-15 team has been a good reference point for a lot of reasons, IMO. Here are two of them.

1) We should stay level headed about this team. That team had 1 more point at this point in the season than we do now and held first place as late as February 20. We all know how that ended. Crumbled down the stretch, lost home ice, and got knocked out in the first round. So as great as this team has been and as fun as it's been, it can all turn on us very quickly (though I would be shocked if they're not a playoff team at this point).

2) That 2014-15 team added who at the deadline? Tyler Kennedy? And that was a team that had all of us clamoring over the chemistry, too. They had needs and Snow never addressed them. And while chemistry is important... even required... if a team crumbles after adding one player, then I'm not sure how mentally strong they were to begin with. We have enough leadership behind the bench now. Trotz won't let everyone get down on themselves because someone's buddy is a healthy scratch or traded.

If there's a smart move to be made for a goal scorer, we have to make it. Our crappy power play is going to end our season in disappointment without one, IMO. We're too close to something special here to play it conservatively.


I agree, whatever move we make has to be made strictly to help fix our PP. If we can figure out to start scoring consistently on the PP the upside for this is unlimited. I say figure out a way to fix this issue before the trade deadline come.
The huge core differences between 2014-2015 is Trotz & health (TBD)  
Eric on Li : 2/15/2019 5:56 pm : link
a) They were enormously banged up at the end of that season - Hamonic and Visnovsky both being hurt had Leddy + Boychuk playing half the game on D. Brian Strait had to play 20 minutes in game 7. Believe Lee was also hurt. There's obviously still the possibility of injuries, but this is a deeper organization with more talent at bridgeport ready to step in. Hickey, Aho, Sbisa, Ladd, JHS, etc.

b) Even with the injuries, and captain jack coaching, they took Trotz/Caps to 7 games in a tough series. Trotz behind the bench for us this team is a huge difference.

I can't think of any aspects where that team was better positioned than this one. So i'd personally have no issue going for a big move at the deadline so long as the value is appropriate and it's a player they can want to try to keep long term. If they were available right now I'd have no issue doing the deal the Sharks did for Karlsson, the deal the Blues did for ROR, or the deal the Leafs did for Muzzin - though I'd probably most prefer the ROR type deal bc he had term and was the most pressing need. I hope Lou makes a similarly fair valued "first round pick + other stuff" trade for a player of that caliber with as much term as possible but if it's a rental so be it. Kevin Hayes seems like the best possible fit to me if we can get the Rags to give him up.
This is bullshit  
KDubbs : 2/15/2019 6:37 pm : link
Barclays blows
Link - ( New Window )
it probably cost L&M a few mil just to get the coliseum for rd 1  
Eric on Li : 2/15/2019 6:40 pm : link
if they get to the 2nd round they are so beyond preseason expectations it's hard to blame them for not being willing to forgo the extra revenue to stay at the coliseum (and millions more it would take to get out of the barclays). It's certainly a bummer though bc the coliseum will obviously be absolutely nuts in the postseason.
I am grateful they got the 1st round there  
theold5j : 2/15/2019 9:51 pm : link
Have been to both nassau and barclays playoffs. The Barclays games were not bad last time around.
RE: I am grateful they got the 1st round there  
JayBinQueens : 2/15/2019 10:17 pm : link
In comment 14297899 theold5j said:
Quote:
Have been to both nassau and barclays playoffs. The Barclays games were not bad last time around.

Atmosphere at Barclays was great but 30% of the seats cant see half the ice
I will be very happy to see  
The 12th Man : 2/15/2019 11:30 pm : link
the Barclay's. That means we made it to the 2nd round. Then we can worry about the atmosphere and what seat can or can not see at the Barclay's.I am glad they got at least one round at the Barn. The atmosphere is going to be nuts!
I don't think adding a scoring piece at the deadline  
Mike from Ohio : 2/16/2019 1:30 pm : link
will necessarily cause the team to crumble. What I am concerned about is will they get the bang for the buck of what they will give up for a rental?

The high end scorers that may be available can't be had for a first round pick "and other stuff." Looking at some of the articles on the Athletic, it seems the asking price for Panarin is a first, a young roster player, and a top prospect. For a guy who has said over and over he wants to be a free agent? That is a hard pass for me. Duschene and Stone? Likely a first and a guy like Beauvillier or Wahlstrom. I just don't think this is a team ready to go the cup finals or win it all this year, even with a top end scorer.

I am glad at least the first round would be at the Coli.
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