All wins matters, all points matter. Some will be good/bad/ugly. Today we saw New York without Horvat, and it was very ugly outshot 15-1, and lost a 2-0 lead with Sorokin frankly again stealing the two points. Happy with any points but this is not sustainable. Yes, I have written that since the preseason, and projected everything but Schaefer being a flat-out generation star, who's carrying this team with Sorokin/Pelech, Horvat, Pulock, and Heineman who finally was moved back to RW where Roy decided he was doing too good so he had/had/had to make him a LW where he went ice-cold/not counting shootout goals where his left-handed shot on right wing does what it did for Jason Blake in 2003.
Ritchie got his goal, Schaefer was on the run the entire game giving/taking and opened the scoring. Ritchie whips that puck at the goal, and he finished, Duclair assisted on both goals. Roy went back to Drouin who almost scored the winning goal for Tampa on the powerplay, and members only Cizikas-Pageau are the Bossy/Trottier for Roy, neither have any offensive ability, and get beaten too often.
Eight over is where Doug Weight had them in December 2017-18 before the total lack of any defensive system sent them free-falling. I don't know if that happens here, what I do know is they need to find more players who can get them to three goals a game. For all the offensive zone rushes,lack of dump-in's not boring most games they are outshot for large parts of the sixty minutes, and chasing. Having goals off the rush is exciting when you can tilt the ice, and get pressure like the third period against Anaheim. Not today.
As for the ice, the NHL has to get in there, completely unacceptable going back to 2023 with pucks sticking to the ice, players falling on their own the entire game. It was so bad Dolan's stooges had to comment about Oakview's building and criminal (former Oakview Presisdent) Tim Leiweke's no-show ice construction plant jobs.
As for Lafontaine folks know what I think, he did not need a second big ceremony like 11/8/03 which was a major event, and I see Jiggs there who was honored once at Northell in 2015 and wonder why this man in his eighties who always comes to all these events has not been honored? Why Stefan Persson, and so many other four cup winners have not had their day. The guy who demnaded a trade on Pickett, Torrey, Arbour, is not deserving in my view but we move on. Glad his number was not retired, and he never met a Ranger event he did not like including that Metro Ice Challenge he attached his name to. Sorry about his family issues. Of course his day will be here on the historical site with the one from 2003.
Now New York gets a break, we see what Horvat's real story is, prepare for long-term. Expect them to drop behind many teams with all the games in hand.
#NYC #NYI #isles Honestly did not remember Jiggs was honored at Barclay's in 2017 so incorrect to write he was not honored by NYI. Still he deserves entry to teams HOF in some manner. https://t.co/IVzQv7fdPT
— New York Islander Fan Central (@NYIFANCENTRAL) December 14, 2025