GRIT: New York Islanders Shutdown Columbus Blue Jackets, Ilya Sorokin DOMINATES in Must-Win

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The New York Islanders stumbled on Saturday, but played with grit and determination on

Sunday.

We'll talk about the difference between the two games and how it reveals the key to success

down the stretch.

Next.

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The New York Islanders bounce back with a gritty win on Sunday at home against the Columbus

Blue Jackets in regulation after falling Saturday on third period collapse that really hurt

this team.

We're going to talk about our key takeaways from both games, the difference between them

and how it shows you the keys to success down the stretch for the New York Islanders as

they continue to battle for one of the final playoff births in the Eastern Conference.

Let's get started with what happened on Sunday.

The Islanders end up beating the Columbus Blue Jackets one to nothing, one to nothing.

Got to say there were shades in this game in my mind anyway of game seven of the quarter

final series in 1975 against the Pittsburgh Penguins where the Islanders beat the penguins

one nothing on a goal by Ed Westfall, Chico Resch got the shot out and the Islanders

completed a four game comeback to win after being down three games to none in that series.

It wasn't just the final score that reminded me of that long ago game.

It was the way the Islanders played.

It was the grit that they showed.

It was the way they kind of locked down the Columbus Blue Jackets who are a very hot, very

good hockey team that since changing coaches to Rick bonus what a few months ago have just

absolutely caught on fire.

To add to the mix that they do it without Ryan Pollock who was out of the game and sitting

out with an injury.

They get up early on a goal by Bo Horvath on the very first shot on goal that the Islanders

had in this game and then they just lock it down Columbus with only 24 shots on goal

all game and many of those shots on goal coming late in the game when they were just pulled

their goalie and were just shooting any way they could against the New York Islanders.

But the Islanders did so many things well against Columbus that have haunted them all

year.

Gap control, back checking, making sure more often than not that Columbus was one and done

at those 24 shots on goal only a handful, only a handful of them were high danger chances

and that made all the difference in the world because let's face it we know how good

Ilia Sirokin is and if he can see the shot and it's not a rebound or a break away or an

odd man rush if he can see the shot most of the time he's going to stop it and boy did

he do a good job of stopping the blue jackets on Sunday.

This game was a must win.

This game after the terrible performance Saturday in the third period where the team just

collapsed and we'll get more into that a little bit later on in the show.

But this team looked in the mirror and said not today.

They did it without one of their top four defensemen and they did it by being more determined

winning more 50-50 puck battles, keeping the blue jackets from getting too many high

danger chances, Zach Warencki arguably the best defensemen in the NHL, certainly one

of the top two or three was on the ice for 29 minutes in this game.

Had three shots on goal but could not get his team over the hump to even beat Ilia Sirokin

once.

This team back checked like it meant it.

This team picked up their man.

This team battled along the boards for loose pucks and won those battles more often than

not.

Basically doing all the things that they don't do enough on a consistent basis to win

hockey games.

And look, I got to address this before we go any further.

The islanders appeared to take a two-nothing lead in the third period.

There's Lee had scored an apparent goal.

And look, what was there about five, six minutes left, seven minutes left.

The blue jackets challenged for goalie interference.

And I watched the replay and I thought to myself, you know what?

I seriously doubt that they're going to win this challenge.

But if I'm coaching the blue jackets, I'm there.

I'm going to try this because I've got nothing to lose.

And lo and behold, somehow the league determines that there was goalie interference.

Now you watch the replay, Andrews Lee does collide with Jet Greaves.

No question about it.

But there's also no question that he did not go into the crease on his own volition.

He was pushed in, he was knocked over.

He did everything that was humanly possible to try to avoid contact.

But there was nothing.

I mean, I do not understand for the life of me what else the league wanted Andrews Lee

to do under those circumstances.

And yet the goal was overturned.

And again, credit to the New York Islanders, number one, they were certainly disappointed.

You saw Patrick Wa talking to the referee a few minutes after it happened, like not minutes

in real time, minutes in hockey time.

So maybe five to ten minutes after the actual incident, trying to get a clarification.

And to his credit, he kind of, you know, kept his temper in check, did not take a penalty.

But he had every reason to be disappointed and let's face this.

Nobody in the national hockey league has a clue what constitutes goalie interference anymore.

And maybe they can define it, but it's become kind of like the NFL and what is it catch?

People will say they know it when they see it, but do they really know it when they see it?

I don't think so.

And the consistency or more specifically the lack of consistency is unbelievable.

I cannot understand for the life of me how that Andrews Lee goal was called off.

And yet how you know, a couple of nights, a goal last week, a goal by the Islanders wiped

out in the final minute, where, you know, the Islanders couldn't appeal it,

because in the final minute it has to come from upstairs.

It's just so inconsistent.

And until the league figures it out, they're just going to keep getting more and more egg

on their face now.

It's not as bad as what's going on with the Department of Player Safety.

We'll get into that a little bit later in the week.

But I, for the life of me, do not understand how that Andrews Lee goal was overturned by

the powers that be in the war room up in Toronto.

Be that as it may a the New York Islanders kept their cool.

They did not let the bad call bother them and they held on and played exceptionally well.

The last five, six minutes however long it was in order to keep that one to nothing lead.

And then be Andrews Lee who, you know, hasn't been consistent this year, coming up with he

he assisted on that first goal his past set up bow or that and and made that play possible.

It was a great off the, you know, nice past that really gave Horvat a chance to finish

and he did.

And, you know, then he gets the second goal which is overturned Lee had almost 19 minutes

on the ice.

He had the assist.

He was a plus one, three shots, one block shot.

He played as well as he has played in a while and credit to him.

And credit also to one Matthew shaper didn't score in this game did not have an assist in

this game.

He was a plus one, led all Islanders in ice time with almost 27 minutes, but I got to

say this.

This may have been his best defensive game in a long time to hit one block shot, but at

least three or four really good defensive plays that allowed the New York Islanders to,

you know, again, make it so that it was one and done more often than not for the Columbus

Blue Jackets.

And, you know, another thing I've noticed about the kid and, you know, what else can you

say about Matthew shaper except just keep keep saying how impressed you are by all these

different facets of this game, but shape, you know, he is not shying away from contact.

He is not backing down in scrums like maybe he was earlier in the year.

I'm not saying he's looking for fights or for scrums, but when the opportunity arises,

he's getting his nose in there and he's not backing down while at the same time.

He's not overdoing it and getting himself into matches, you know, mismatches that he

can really get hurt in.

So a lot of credit to Matthew shaper as he's learning and adjusting to the more physical

side of the NHL game hero and goats of this game.

I'm going to have the hero be Ilya Sorokin.

I don't think there's any any other way to slice it.

You can go bow or that for the goal.

You can go, you know, you could go Matthew shaper for his great two way game, including

the strong defensive play, but I got to give it really to Ilya Sorokin for the 24 saved

shot out and then go to the game, the war room in Toronto for overturning that goal that

made so little sense.

So that's where I've got to go with that.

But most importantly for the islanders, the resilience to bounce back when the chips

were down and to come up with a must win credit to this New York Islanders team.

Two big points in the books.

With the season ended today, the islanders are back in the playoffs.

Yeah, they're a wild card, but they're back in the playoffs and they're even now with

the blue jackets in point to though again, Columbus has that game in hand.

So they could still be in the top three in the Metro and they really needed this win

and they got it and that was huge.

We have got more to get to though on today's show.

Sunday was a great performance Saturday.

Not so much.

Talk about that tough loss in Montreal coming up next on today's Lockdown Islanders podcast

and oh, for our islanders birthday of the day, a player, the islanders got from the

WHOA went on to be a big part of all four Stanley Cup winning teams.

Let's see if you can guess who this winger is and as a clue, we played for the Houston

arrows of the WHA that and more next on today's Lockdown Islanders podcast.

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Sunday was great Saturday not so much.

And for two periods, the islanders were in this game.

And it looked like they were in a good spot early in the third period when Matthew Shafer

scored on the power play his 22nd goal of the year and it tied the game at three three.

Unfortunately in the last 19 minutes and 15 seconds, the islanders did not record a

shot on goal.

They were outshot badly in the third period.

They gave up four goals in a row and just collapsed defensively.

And I'll say this in goal, you could sit there and say, oh, yeah, Elias wrote and gave

up four goals, excuse me, he gave up six goals, only at an 813 save percentage.

He didn't play well, but I don't think any of the goals were soft.

I don't think it was his fault.

This team defensively just collapsed and that collapse was absolutely horrible.

It was embarrassing.

It was just it was just like this team defensively couldn't pick up anybody.

They did not execute.

They didn't give you the effort that you need in the corners.

They didn't win 50, 50 puck battles.

They didn't back check.

They didn't pick up their man.

It was a no show.

And we've talked about how this team needs to play 60 minutes of hockey and in this game

they played 41 minutes at most.

And there were some highlights, JG Pazzo winning nine of 11 face offs, six hits for Mark

Gattgen, Shafer's goal, certainly a highlight, but overall, this team, again, not responding

when the Habs got physical, not showing the desperation of the moment.

The fans, by the way, in Montreal, booing Matthew Shafer every time he touched the puck,

got to say, R-E-S-P-E-C-T, right?

I mean, that was really showing an 18-year-old kid how important they know he is to the

islanders and how good he is.

I was kind of down on Patrick Law Saturday for not calling the time out.

He had certainly many opportunities to do that.

In the third period, didn't do it and it was kind of mind-boggling because the team was

literally just like falling apart in front of him and he didn't call the time out.

And the islanders were up two to one with two minutes and 11 seconds left in the second

period and they gave up two goals in, what, a minute and a half roughly and watched it

all fall apart.

So, you know, that inconsistency label is a problem for this team, and boy oh boy was

Saturday, very inconsistent hockey.

The Rokin kept the minute, without him, I think it would easily have been ten to three

because the Canadian's outplayed the islanders for large portions of this game.

And again, after the game is over, I do not understand, you know, Patrick Law talking

about bounces, posts, oh yeah, the turning point was we hit a couple of posts and we didn't

get good bounces.

The last seven to three and there was an eighth goal that was overturned.

You know, let's be real here.

Yeah, I get it, Patrick, you want to back your team, you want to stand up for you guys,

you don't want to call them out in public, you don't have to call them out individually,

but you do at some point, have to say, you know what?

What I saw on the ice in this game, or in the third period at least, was not acceptable.

That this is not how we play, this is not islanders hockey and if guys continue to play like

this, somebody's going to sit.

It just was not an acceptable effort and I'm tired of hearing post game comments saying,

oh yeah, we were in this game, we just didn't get the breaks or the bounces or no.

That third period was one of the worst periods I've seen.

Not just this team, but any team play maybe since the days of the original Washington

capitals or the Kansas City scouts, it was bad hockey and it was bad hockey in a clutch

situation that gave up two costly points in a game that entering the third period they

were right there.

So thankfully the team responded, whatever Patrick was said behind closed doors and I'm assuming

he definitely addressed things, I give him credit and then I give the team credit for

winning without Polock and without Duke, Anthony Duclair, unable to go.

So Gaccom and McLean were both in the lineup on the fourth line, but ultimately, ultimately

the islanders kept this season alive and kept their playoff chances alive with a big clutch

win on Sunday and boy oh boy did they need it.

That'll take to finish successfully, well we'll date to that, we'll also have our

hero and go to the game and our birthday of the day coming up on today's Locked on

Islanders podcast.

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Hero and go to the game from Saturday the go is easy the team's overall defense and

lack of effort was the goat I think that is the easiest way to pinpoint it and you know

for hero of the game I'm going with JG page 0 for winning 9 of 11 face offs and for recording

4 hits in this game in score but I'm giving him credit for at least being gritty and that's

something the islanders really needed as far as what it's going to take for this team

to make the playoffs and let's face it we are coming to the stretch drive now.

This team has a dozen games left and I'll say it right away for this team to make the

playoffs it's got to be defense first and I'll tell you why this team your best player

remains your goalie yeah Matthew Schaefer is close bo4 vats up there Matthew bars all does his thing

JG page 0 great role player but the islanders win because they're goalie you'll you're

sireken stops more high danger chances and faces more high danger chances than any other

goalie in the lead you got to cut down on those you got to be responsible defensively and you've

got to give a 60 minute effort that's what we saw Sunday night against the blue jackets the

islanders took the lead early and they never stopped working Saturday in Montreal they took a

two to one lead and they you know what the bed you can't let up and you look at the schedule coming

up and there are no easy games you are going to have to give 100% 100% of the time and that doesn't

mean you're always the better team on the ice and it doesn't mean you dominate but this is a

veteran team and a veteran team has to know when the season is on the line you lift your level of

play and they did that on Sunday I will take as many one nothing or two to one wins as this team

can give me because if they don't allow high danger chances rebounds don't allow you'll you

have to go to the Sorokin to get screen do not allow the opposing team to come into the offensive

zone with speed and with momentum and with space they're going to win a lot more games than they

lose down the stretch but defense requires work it requires winning those 50 50 battles along the

boards it requires getting back and picking up your man it requires grit and determination and

we haven't seen that consistently from this team over the course of this season it's been there

at times and at times you're like what are we watching here how can they be so good one minute and

so bad the next play defense work hard kill penalties the offense they'll be enough of it to get

through and and win enough games down the stretch it's there for the taking you're not going to

make the playoffs by winning six to five every night it's not the way this team is built

you've got 11 games left you've won 40 games already this season go out there and get to the

finish line by playing defense first hockey consistently outworking your opponent and that is how

you get into the playoffs 60 minutes or more if it goes to overtime for 11 games and you're there

it's there for the taking this team controls its own destiny now they have to go out and do it

time now for our islanders birthday of the day this is an easy one I hope you got it from the

clue but well Sunday I know today is the 69th birthday of former islanders forward John Tonelli

the Milton Ontario native 6195 pounds second round pick of the islanders in 1977 but back then

the WHA was signing players who were not yet old enough to play in the NHL that included John Tonelli

so he spent three years playing with Gordy how well not three years with all with Gordy but three

years with the Houston arrows and had two 20 goal seasons there went over 100 penalty minutes twice

but joined the islanders in 78 79 was on all four Stanley Cup winning teams and put together a 42

goal 100 point season in 1984 85 was traded late in the 85 86 season to the flames later

played for the kings the black hawks and finishes career with 19 games for lay nor deep to Quebec

in his NHL career a thousand 28 games 325 goals 836 points 911 penalty minutes

add 40 goals 115 points in 172 Stanley Cup playoff games his best single regular season game as an

islander got to be January 6 1981 islanders hosting the Leafs at the Nassau Colosseum

Yuri Shra the goalie for Toronto Chico Resh the netminder for your New York Islanders

and our islanders birthday of the day John Tonelli got things started midway through the first

period Mike Bossy and Brian Tradiay with the assist one to nothing islanders Trachiay scores

five and a half minutes later on the power play it's two nothing islanders after one in the second

period our islanders birthday of the day John Tonelli strikes again a minute 45 in Mike Bossy and

Dave Longivan with the assist islanders up three to nothing Rick Vave scores in the final second

of the second period to make it three to one but John Tonelli strikes yet again he finishes the

hat trick less than two minutes into the third step on Pearson and Mike Bossy with the assist

so the islanders appear to be up comfortably four to one but Ron Ellis and Rick Vave scored to

make it four to three with four minutes left but who puts the game at a reach John Tonelli his

fourth goal of the game Trachiay and Bossy the assist and then in the final minute and empty netter

Bossy the assist islanders win this one by a score of six to three but for John Tonelli five goals

he's a plus four he scored the game winner he scored five goals on six shots which did

indeed lead the islanders and the islanders go on to earn this win behind 28 saves by Chico

Resh islanders six Maple Leafs three John Tonelli five goals he is our islanders birthday of the day

this is a great time to join the every day or club you get ad free episodes and locked on islanders

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for a little instant insight and analysis and it's great to talk islanders hockey with you game time

or anytime every dayers will have a bonus episode tomorrow and tomorrow on our regular show

we will preview Tuesday's game against the Chicago black hawks another opportunity to get two big

points we'll talk about that plus the latest injury news and islanders news notes and happenings

until tomorrow have a great day everybody stay safe and of course let's go islanders

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