New York Islanders Postgame Availability | NYI vs DET (10/23/25)

You got to come out right away. I mean, you got to come out right away all the time, but tonight you sure did. Yeah, usually team on the back to back comes out hard in the first period and start dying out a little bit. Um, fortunately for us, we were able to get going right away. They had a chance. We had a good save by Ry and then we kind of turned it on. But, uh, I mean, the plays Ley was making from the start of the game through obviously the end of the game there pretty impressive. So, it’s nice when the captain leads it away. The passing tonight was real. Chris, his passing. Yeah. Yeah, it was great. Bo made a couple nice passes as well to Heiny. Uh, no. I thought we played a better game tonight than we have. Obviously, you’ve been winning, so it doesn’t matter how you how you do it, but eventually you want to get to what you’re trying to do, and I thought we did a good job of that tonight. Some of those defensive improvements the team made in tonight’s game, I guess, more connected as a group of five if we were trying to break it out. There was guys there sometimes, you know, when they’re forchecking, those little bumps go right into another player. That’s why you need the second, third, fourth layer sometimes even. So, we had it tonight. Our centers are really good. Guys coming low. Wingers are doing a good job getting the puck out of the zone. And from there we were real good off the rush. Obviously we scored multiple goals off the rush. You guys set up fitting in so well and getting off to this kind of start. Yeah. I mean when I got here in um August, he may have came a week later. You could tell how good his shot is and uh he’s getting open. If he gets open and and they find him, he’s going to score. So really good start for him. I didn’t really know much about him to be to be honest with you before we got him. But he’s off to a great start. He looks really good. Four in a row. I mean, how good is this right now? The way you guys are. Yeah, it’s great, especially when you start up 0 and three. you know, you’re back over the 500 line, you can kind of, you know, take off from here. So, hopefully we can keep this going and and keep the winning ways. And same thing for David Riddick. How has he helped early on his two for two, he’s been great both games. Really talkative on the ice, moves the puck well, comes out and helps it. So, to have a compliment behind Roki there, what he’s doing is uh real important for us for you just uh tell me about your two goals. Yeah, it’s uh two really good passes right on the tape. So, I’m just trying to stay ready and uh trying to get it on net pretty much. So, uh, be stay ready out there cuz I know they they they are able to find you. So, uh, uh, yeah, feel nice. You’d like to make an impact with a new team, but did you expect this so far? Uh, it would be crazy to say that I expected it. So, uh, obviously not, but, uh, I’m just trying to take it day by day and, uh, play as good as I can. So, I’m happy with the where we’re playing. Uh, starting to create some chemistry, too. So, it’s nice. Why do you think you fit in so well so far? Uh, mostly I think it’s a it’s a good mix. Uh, I think we’re bringing a lot of different uh elements out there. So, uh, we’re creating a lot for each other and we’re working really hard out there, too. How did David Riddick, you know, really help you guys tonight? Yeah, he’s uh he started off our winning streak with uh the first one and uh he played really well, too. He he got saved us in the game that we could get away with a few goals. So, uh, it was it was really good today, too. When you have a team, you know, in a back to back, do you have to really take it to them early and make sure you take advantage of that? Sorry. When you have a team going to a back to back like you, you have to get on them early just to kind of take it to them like you did tonight. Uh, it wasn’t anything we we talked much uh about that much. Uh, it was more uh what we would bring out there. Um, and uh, I felt we did that. Some of your big saves tonight. Well, I said it last time, safe is safe for me. If that gives the momentum to my team, it’s great. But I’m just trying to keep the puck away from the net. What was the key in that first period that that kind of set the stage for the win? Well, we jumped them right away that that was that was a good part. We we knew they run back to back and we take advantage of it. How much does it, you know, make make you feel well that you’ve come in here now and contributed to this team early on in the year? Well, it’s early. I played two games. you know can be different story in two weeks but uh right now I’m feeling good uh personally uh right now I’m feeling good as a team and that’s the most important for me if you feel good about our game as as a team and as a goalie when you see the support you get uh from from not only the defenders but the scoring tonight that had to be huge it’s obviously good you know like I’m just you know the win is win and no matter how we got it I’m I’m glad we got it the complete game right from the beginning Yes, very very pleased. I mean, we got a lot of guys that played really well. Riddick was outstanding. Um, he made some great save, made things look easy at times. Um, so it was a great performance by him. I think, uh, our captain was a beast out there. He was play hard and and I thought he had a strong game. Um, Olstrom had a really good game stepping on that line. I thought he was really good. Um, he was really good on PK. I mean, I love his puck protection offensively. He was skating well. Tony D’Angelo, the players name him the c the the player of the game. He had a strong game, score a nice goal on the the first one to give us and I thought he played like the Tony of last year. So, it was nice to see that. There’s a lot of I mean, I could have go on and on and but if I keep going, you guys won’t have any questions for me. So, about Hyman and what he’s meant to this team so far. Heyman with the way he’s got two goals tonight. Yeah, again another great I mean yeah they were great passes by by Bo on that twoonone the first one and that cross pass on the on the entry on that on the second goal but it’s more than that. I mean it’s it’s it’s how he he defend. It’s how quick he’s jumping uh and and find those open seam for a pass. I mean, it’s it’s it’s um it’s fun to watch defensively. Just How What did you like about this game? Well, I I thought that we I love the um first of all, I love how we were jumping on our first touch. I mean, we were were skating well. We we didn’t give it give them a chance to close on us and and I think that helped our breakouts, first of all. Secondly, I love the urgency that we had to either block shots or take those those lane away or cutting them the protecting the the pocket more. So, that was that was that was another thing that I really love about our team. And our tracking was really good actually on that second goal. It was a great track tracking by Joe Dwayne and gave us that twoon-one and allow us to make it two nothing game and end of the game Schaefer gets hit. Three guys jump. I’m sure you love this. Yeah, your your reaction to that. You I’m sure you love this as much as I do. So, I mean that’s that’s a team. That’s a team. That’s what you do for your teammates. You’re there for them and that’s what the guys did. I’m I’m I really love the the the way the guys protect each other. The other day when we spoke to Matthew Dar, he he said, “Well, I know this team can score goals, you know, but there’s some growing pains he in terms of limiting chances.” He This was yesterday he was talking. I’m just curious, you know, how close to where you want to go do you think this team is with with the complete game and getting getting past those growing pains? Yeah. Um I I I know that we’re talking a lot about you know cutting the slot chances against I mean we’ve been talking but when you look at the statistic the analytics you realize that we’re one or two chances away to be in the top 10 or in the middle of the pack. So, if we could just here and there cut on on those, like it could be a breakout, a turnover at the blue line, like tonight taking a shot on our own guy and the puck comes in and we just things like this, I think we’re going to cut down on a lot of chances and we’ll be surprised to see where we are because when we defend, we do pretty well. You know, we’re doing really well. But if we could cut down on ozone turnovers or or or breakout turnovers or coming out of the Dzone from a shot taken, I think we’ll be surprised to see where our our um our Dzone coverage will be. You mentioned Riddic obviously having another really strong game, two starts for him. I I know every coach wants to see the backup goalie come in, you know, every few games and give that stability. What is it about Ridditch’s personality and his competitiveness that allows him to come out, you know, if if Well, what I love about him in it, first of all, it’s in the practice. I mean, he competes. He competes all the time. He’s pissed off when he gives goals and um he talks a lot and I think and he plays the puck very well. Uh we talk about it couple days ago or yeah two yesterday actually and we talk about it because he played with Mike Smith and when he was in um in Calgary and and he was telling me that how good he was with the puck. So Mike Smith and then he said that he he said he’ll never be like Mike Smith but he loves to play the puck and I thought he did a really nice job. He didn’t learn from me that’s for sure. Patrick, has Emil Heinman exceeded any expectations you might have had of him so far? Yes. And and obviously I mean I didn’t know him very well. So I mean um I remember when we were talking about trade with Montreal and Metsure when he made the trade the first thing he said look out for this guy. He’s a he’s only 23 years old. I mean and and that’ll be a great addition for our team. And right now, I mean, he’s been just impressive to watch. What have you liked about the way Barzal has defended, especially with his tracking off in transition in his own zone? He was better today than he was the last two games, uh, I would say. And and and I think Barzy knows that, you know, when I’m every time we talk, he wants to play well defensively. And I feel like he’s adapting very well to the position and he he’s been playing better and better, you know, in his own zone.

Hear from Tony DeAngelo, Emil Heineman, David Rittich, and Patrick Roy after tonight’s win vs Detroit.

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