RESILIENCE: New York Islanders & Sorokin SHOCK Devils in OT—What Does This WIN Mean for the Team?

RESILIENCE: New York Islanders & Sorokin SHOCK Devils in OT—What Does This WIN Mean for the Team?

The New York Islanders keep winning. They score a dramatic overtime victory over the Devils. We’ll talk about our key takeaways from the game and what it means for this team going forward next on today’s Locked On Islanders podcast. You’re Locked On Islanders, your daily podcast on the New York Islanders, part of the Locked On Network. your team every day. Welcome everybody to the Tuesday edition of the Lockdown Islanders podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. I want to thank everyone who makes Locked On Islanders your first listen every day. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episode. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Download the FanDuel app now by visiting fanduel.com and win $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. I’m also thrilled to announce that the Locked Podcast Network is now the number one sports podcast network. So, thank you to all of our viewers and listeners for helping us to reach that milestone. We have got a lot to cover on today’s show. I’m Gil Martin. I’ve been covering the Islanders for almost two decades and I wrote the book Ice Wars on the history of the Islanders rivalry with the Rangers from 1972 till the modern era. So glad you could join us today. Islanders with a big overtime win. We’ll have our key takeaways and our hero and go to the game. Plus, we’re going to answer some of your mailbag questions as well and some good ones from you. So, thank you for those. But let’s start with the game. In overtime, the Islanders beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2. And I have to say that this was a satisfying win. Not so much because the Islanders were flawless in this game. They were not. They still took a few too many penalties. uh they weren’t, you know, the better team for most of the time that this game was going on. And yet, I think when you break it all down, the New York Islanders played one of the smartest road games that you’re going to see. again, ignoring the too many men on the ice penalty and a couple of other bad penalties that they took, which are frustrating to no end. But here they’re going on the road against a division rival, a team that is, let’s face it, honestly, more talented, faster, uh a team that had not lost all year. They were 70 and0 at home. coming into this game. And what the Islanders did well was stay with the Devils. They did not allow the Devils with a few minor exceptions to dominate play to have speed coming through the neutral zone. Again, for the first time, the last two or three games have really been a a change in the way this team is playing defense. And yes, the Devils had plenty of shot opportunities, but high danger chances, not as many as what this team was consistently giving up earlier in the season. And when I say earlier, maybe the first 13 14 games. And Siroken ends up making 32 saves on 34 shots. And again, it was smart. You know, when those high danger chances came up, Siroken came up big. And there is definitely a symbiotic relationship between the way the Islanders as a team play defense and how well Ilia Sroken plays. And I don’t think this is like this big mystery. If your goalie gets more support, he’s going to play better. And guess what? In this game, the goalie got more support, came up big when he needed to, and it was enough to get a big W. And so, you’re starting this sevengame road trip, which is never an easy thing. And yet, you start that sevename road trip with wins at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers. And now in Newark against the Devils, you can’t ask for a better start to the road trip than that. And you know the most frustrating thing, and we’ve seen it from this team every day, you know how often we’ve seen this, but you give up the tying goal. The the the Devils pull their goalie. 4.7 seconds left in regulation and the Devils tie it. And you would think, you would think that that would deflate the Islanders, that the momentum would be firmly and strongly with the New Jersey Devils and the Islanders would be in some sense of trouble or difficulty. But you know when overtime started this team started with a clean slate and in the end a pretty goal from Matthew Barzal assists to Drewan and Pock gets the Islanders the win a minute and 15 seconds into overtime. The resilience of this team, you know, it’s funny. The Islanders are very inconsistent, but they are also resilient. And you you you’ll take that part of it, right? The resilience. Uh they did not let the goal bother them. They came out and did what they needed to do and earned the W. And you know, getting Kyle Palmary to score again was big. But how about Bo Horbat? 12 goals now on the season. You got to love watching Bo Horvat continue to give this team spark. And you know, Horvat, Barzal, Palary, Drewan, all plus two in this game. And you know who the only defenseman was at a plus two in this game? Matthew Schaefer. And Schaefer was on the ice for 21 minutes and 26 seconds. He had one assist. He’s a plus two. He had three shots on goal. No other defenseman had more than one. He had a hit and a takeaway, but he also blocked three shots, which tied him with Pelican Pock for the team lead in this game. And again, I just love the moxy, the stick tuitidness, the resilience that this team is showing to to go up against a team that has played so well this season and to manage to win this game in spite of their mistakes. That was a beautiful thing to watch. And you know, was it artistic? No. Were they the better team for most of the game? No. But on the road, that’s kind of what you need to do. You keep it close. You slow it down. You you counterattack. You create chances off the other team’s mistakes. And you find a way to win the hockey game. And you know, there’s sort of a learning curve, right? And even on a veteran team like the Islanders where early in the season, this team as a unit together needs to learn how to win. And I think last night’s game against the Devils was a building block in that process of learning how to win, playing a smart road hockey game, and getting the W. Uh it it’s not something that a team that is just going to be really bad is going to do and do very often. So happy with the W. You take it. Definitely some things to work on. No doubt about that. But starting this road trip 2 and 0 wins over the two local rivals. Can’t beat that. Islanders getting the job done and that is an encouraging sign for this team. We have got a lot more to get to on today’s show. We will have our hero and go to the game and a few more observations about it. We will answer your mailbag questions and for our Islanders birthday of the day. uh a native of Chikurami, Quebec, who briefly played for the Islanders in 1977, played uh 25 games for the Isles, but later went on to coach a number of NHL teams, including the Rangers. Let’s see if you can guess who this former Redwing is. All that and more coming up on today’s Lock on Islanders podcast. Today’s episode is brought to you by your friends at FanDuel. The NBA is back and there’s no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you missed the start of the game or want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything from who will score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus, you could even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. It keeps every game exciting, especially when your team is making that late push. And hey, Islander fans, you could use your knowledge of the Islanders and the NHL on FanDuel as well. So, check out the latest odds. Right now, FanDuel is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. So head to fanduel.com to sign up and play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. I really uh appreciate the way the Islanders went about their business today. Did not did not lose their cool. And you know, yeah, the the PJO homestrom line kind of struggled a little bit. Uh, as did the Romanov and Mayfield defense pairing, but overall the Islanders got the job done. The the penalty kill was effective and that was really important because again, they did take too many penalties. And you know what? Early in the game, too many men on the ice. I I don’t know if that was a mistake by a player, if the coach’s instructions weren’t clear, what what the whole business is, but again, those are mistakes that you cannot afford to make under these circumstances when you’re playing a very good team like the New Jersey Devils. And it’s not going to get easier. Thursday night, you know, you got Vegas coming up next on this road trip. And, you know, under those circumstances, you you you just can’t afford to give really good teams extra opportunities. Now, interesting that, you know, Max Shabonov still injured. They’re not sure if he’s going west with the team and hopefully we’ll get an update on that in time for tomorrow’s show. But Kyle Mlan and Adam Bokefist, the healthy scratches for the Islanders in this game. And the other observation, by the way, uh the Islanders kind of realizing the struggles defensively of Tony D’Angelo and you know, D’Angelo only out there for 13 minutes and 28 seconds. And I don’t think he played badly in this game. Uh but clearly uh Patrick Wah a little concerned about the defensive play or lack thereof from Tony D’Angelo and we’ll keep an eye on his ice time going forward. But uh hero and go to the game. I mean I could go with Elilia Siroken. I think had they won in regulation, I would have gone with Siroken. Uh, you could definitely go with Bo Horvat or Kyle Palmary, who both had a goal and an assist in this game, but I’m going to go with Barzy, who gets the game winner in OT. He was also a plus two. Uh, scored on his only shot. Barsy, please shoot the puck a little bit more. Uh but that that’s where I’m going. And then for the go to the game, just giving up that goal with less than five seconds left in regulation. You can’t do those kind of things. So to me, the GOAT is either the penalties that you took or or giving up that late goal. I’m going to go with giving up that late goal. But uh overall, you got to be happy with the way this team is playing. And again, where is this team at right now? Uh they are still a very up and down team. You know, you look at November, they beat Columbus, lose to Boston, lose to Minnesota, then they beat the Rangers and beat the Devils. It’s it’s back and forth. And you know, I get the feeling that that very well could be what we’re going to see for most of this season. That the the key uh or one of the keys for this New York Islanders team to get from where they are right now to where they want to be is to play consistently. and Everydayers, we’ve been talking about this for years, right? How inconsistent this team can be. And if they want to be a playoff team this year, if they want to find a way to to compete in the very, you know, competitive NHL season and, you know, make the playoffs, you got to beat out all those tough teams in the Atlantic. an addition to the teams in the metro. You got to be more consistent. You can ride the roller coaster. All good, right? But not a way to win. And the difference between a lottery team and a playoff team is not that the lottery team never has good games. It’s that the playoff team has good games consistently. whereas the lottery team turns it on and does well occasionally and spends a lot more time struggling. They’re not there yet as of right now, but I’m kind of seeing a little bit of progress in the right direction. And yet against the Devils, we still saw the gap in team speed in in skill level. The Devils right now, all things being equal, are a faster, better, more skilled hockey team. But as a former NHL player and coach and general manager once said to me, uh, the better team, the more skilled team doesn’t always win. And the Islanders prove that tonight by playing this smart road game and earning two big points. So, here we go. Right. the the next five games. I said before this road trip started, I said, “Let’s get a minimum of seven points in seven games. Give me a 500 record on the road.” Well, you got four points already. You now have five games to get the other three points and hopefully maybe possibly even exceed seven points. um playoff teams go 500 on the road and win like two out of every three or three out of every four possible points at home. Can the Islanders get there? Again, you got to take it one game at a time, but we still do see the gap in talent and speed, and that is something that Matthew Darsh is going to have to address before this team can become the team that he wants them to be. that that perennial playoff team that is a contender for the cup, not just for the wild card, but for the cup for four, five, seven, 10 years in a row. If they can get to that point, wow, what a difference that will make. And it’s something that Islander fans have not seen for a long time. And quite honestly, something that Islander fans deserve. So, I’m seeing progress here, but I need to see consistent progress. And uh we’ll see if this team can do that. We’ve got more to get to on today’s show. We’re going to the mailbag to answer your questions. Plus, we’ll have our Islanders birthday of the day. Did you get it yet? All that and a lot more coming up on today’s Locked On Islanders podcast. Today’s episode is brought to you by Drip Drop. When I’m hydrated, everything just works better. My focus, energy, mood, even my skin. That’s why I’ve been using Drip Drop. It’s doctor developed hydration that keeps me running at full power no matter what my day looks like. Drip Drop isn’t your average sports drink. It delivers three times the electrolytes and half the sugar of the leading brands using a sciencebacked formula trusted by medical professionals, firefighters, and over 90% of top college and pro teams. I like using Drip Drop as part of my daily routine. I’ll mix a packet in the morning or maybe before I go swimming and it helps me get through that midday slump. Hydration has become non-negotiable for me, and Drip Drop helps me feel sharper, calmer, and honestly, just better overall. Right now, DripDrop is offering podcast listeners 20% off your first order. So, go to dripdrop.com and use promo code locked on NHL. That’s dripdrop.com. Promo code locked on NHL for 20% off. Stock up now before the heat hits hard and keep your body and mind performing at their best with Drip Drop. And uh again, just had to reiterate, thank you for making Locked On Islanders your first listen of the day and thank you for making the Locked On the number one sports podcast network. We are so proud and thank you profusely uh for us to reach that milestone. Let’s go to the mailbag. We’ve got a couple of questions from you and it’s always great to hear from you. Uh the first one is from Charles in Lando Lakes, Florida. Uh he says, “I’m a huge fan of your podcast. Your passion for our Islanders is refreshing for long-term fans like myself.” Thank you, Charles. Uh, I know this may be a stretch, but don’t you think that Schaefer resembles a young Gretzky in the Bruins game when he effortlessly rushed the net and nearly scored with two seconds left? I stood up in anticipation because I haven’t seen speed like that since Gretzky. What do you think, Charles in Lando Lakes, Florida? Charles, I I I get where you’re coming from. I love the comparison, but it’s kind of like apples and oranges because Gretzky was, you know, a forward, a center, and Schaefer is a defenseman. Uh, I would rather compare him to a defenseman. And I’ll say this, it’s early right now to compare Schaefer to Gretzky. If you’re just focusing on the skating aspect of it, I think his skating is outstanding. And you know, I see some of Kale Mar when it comes to skating. I see some the move that you described, uh, Charles, I kind of tweeted it out that he made a Bobby or move where, you know, and I don’t know if you’re old enough to have seen Bobby or, but, if you haven’t, go to YouTube and check out the highlights. Uh, but the bottom line is this was just a great move. This kid is just so talented. I don’t want to put too much pressure on Matthew Schaefer because here’s the here’s the thing. We could say, “Yeah, he resembles Gretzky or he resembles Macar or or Dennis Potman in this or that or the other, you know, facet of his game.” And we could be accurate about that. Okay. But ultimately the bottom line is the difference between Gretzky and Orur and Mar and Paul Coffee and so many other you know Dennis Potman all these great Hall of Fame players is they did it for a decade or more at this very high level. So yeah, is Matthew Schaefer showing flashes of Hall of Fame ability? Absolutely. But before I really consistently start comparing him to Hall of Fame players, uh I want to see him not just do it, you know, every once in a while or even for half a season or a full season. Show me, you know, three, four, five years of highlevel excellence. The beautiful thing about it, Charles, is just like you, I see different plays and I can easily pick them out and say, “Yeah, that looked like fill in the blank on the Hall of Fame player or the the superstar player. Yeah, that looked like this guy or or this other guy. I get it. But he’ll get there. he’ll get to some really great uh spot and and just do his thing. So, I I am just enjoying the ride right now with Matthew Schaefer and I hope he can continue to build on it as of this point. Our next uh mailbag question comes from Samuel. He says, “My name is Samuel from Brooklyn. New York, longtime New York Islander fan since 1980 to the current day. This team is fun to watch. Schaefer has made everyone better on this team. The kid is a superstar in the making for sure. My question is, what do you do? Do you make the playoffs or you do you continue to build for the future and possibly move Pou and Barzal and Lee and others at the deadline for first round picks? I want to win, but I also believe we are best suited to continue to build through the draft. Thank you, Gil, and let’s go Islanders. Samuel, thank you so much for the question. It is always great to hear from longtime Islander fans. Uh, look, I think right now Matthew Dar is gonna play it by ear and to me the more important thing is the long term. It’s the future. I would move Pacio and Lee. Barzal is sort of to me more of a wait and see, but I would move those guys. But it’s going to it’s going to come down to where this team is when we get closer to the trade deadline. And in all honesty, and uh you know, I talked about this earlier in in the last segment, where is this team at in relation to the rest of the league? And every day, I mentioned it yesterday. They’re still in the middle. I don’t think they’re in the muddy middle anymore because there’s realistic hope for the future. So, they’re out of the muddy part or at least getting out of the muddy part. So, is there value to making the playoffs this year and even if they go out in the first round getting guys like Cal Richie and Matthew Schaefer playoff experience, yeah, there’s value to that, but the long-term to me is the more important aspect of it. And ultimately ultimately getting to that spot that Matthew uh that Matthew Dar talked about the perennial playoff team is the more important thing in my mind. Now, keep in mind, even if the Islanders don’t make uh, you know, even if they make the playoffs, let’s say, if Matthew Dar acquires a third first round pick at the deadline, and I think he should not let a possible wild card get in the way of the retool, which we need to see. uh if they have three first round picks, you could easily trade one or two of them, move up and get a top 10 pick and have a really good player added to this roster next year. So, there’s different ways to do it and we’ll see what Matthew Dar does. Time now for our Islanders birthday of the day and today is the 71st birthday of former Islanders winger Michelle Berseron. fourthround pick by the Red Wings in 1974. Made his NHL debut with Detroit in 7475 and then joined the Islanders in the 7778 season. Played 25 games for the Isisles. Had nine goals and 15 points in those 25 games. Uh and then finished his NHL career with the Capitals. Went on to become a successful head coach uh for Quebec and for the Rangers. Uh but during his brief time with the Islanders, this kid could put the puck in the net. One of his better games as an Islander. December 20th, 1977, the old Colorado Rockies invade the Coliseum. Doug Favll, the goalie for Colorado. Chico Rash the goalie for the New York Islanders. And our Islanders birthday of the day. Michelle Berseron opens the scoring four minutes and 21 seconds into the game. Billy Harris and Dennis Potvan the assist. It’s one- nothing Islanders. In uh less than a minute later, Berseron strikes again. JP Paresi and Billy Harris with the assists. That makes it two nothing in favor of the Islanders. In the third period, Berseron and Jerry Hart set up Billy Harris. In the end, the Islanders crush the Rockies 9 to1 and Berseron adds a late assist on another goal by Harris. It’s it’s a one-way domination, but for Michelle Berseron, a four-point game, two goals, two assists, a plus four. He scored the game winner and he had six shots on goal which led the Islanders. Chico Rash with 32 saves in this game. Michelle Berseron is our Islanders birthday of the day. Thank you for making Locked On Islanders your first listen today. For your second listen, check out the allnew Locked on NHL game night every game, every night until the Stanley Cup champion is crowned. Get local analysis on a national scale. You could find NHL game night on Locked on NHL, on YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. It’s part of the Locked On podcast network. your team every day. If you have a question, a comment, maybe a topic you’d like us to discuss on a future episode, email us at lockdown [email protected] just like uh Samuel did. Uh always great to to hear from guys. So Samuel and Charles, again, thank you for your emails. So, locked on islanders atgmail.com. If you leave your first name and where you’re from, we’re happy to mention you on the show when we discuss whatever’s on your mind. You could follow the show on xlocked. You could follow me, Gil Martin, on X at Icewars NYRVSNYI. We’ll keep you up to date on all things Islanders all year long. And I’m live tweeting during nearly every Islanders home and road game. So, join me for some instant insight and analysis. And it’s great to talk Island Islanders hockey with you. game time or anytime. Everydayers, we are back tomorrow. We will have our weekly farm and prospect report, plus the latest Islanders news, notes, and happenings. We’ll uh hopefully get an update on Max Shabanov, among other things. Until then, have a great day, everybody. Stay safe, and of course, let’s go Islanders.

New York Islanders shock New Jersey Devils with a dramatic 3-2 overtime win—are the Isles finally finding consistency on their road trip? Gil Martin spotlights Mathew Barzal’s clutch OT goal, Ilya Sorokin’s stellar goaltending, and Bo Horvat’s scoring surge as key factors in the Islanders’ evolving identity. The team’s resilience, defensive improvements, and smarter road play raise hopes of a playoff push, even as familiar penalty troubles persist.

Insights include Matthew Schaefer’s standout performance drawing comparisons to NHL legends, discussion of the Pageau-Holmstrom line struggles, and Patrick Roy’s ice time adjustments for Tony DeAngelo. The episode covers potential trade scenarios for Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Anders Lee, and Mathew Barzal, and teases the Islanders’ roster decisions ahead of tough matchups against Vegas. Can New York continue this momentum and close the gap with the league’s elite? Find out in this fast-paced analysis and interactive mailbag.

All this and more on today’s Locked On Islanders Podcast with Gil Martin.

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