Time: 10:30 a.m. (doors open); 12:00 p.m. (butts in seats); 1:00 p.m. (puck drop)
Place: Little Caesars Arena
Broadcasts: BSDET, MSGSN
Isles blog: Lighthouse Hockey
After a big win against the Caps following a celebration of the 1997 Cup Team, we’re back at it looking not to embarrass ourselves in front of the 1998 Cup Team. Not expecting much in the way of lineup shuffling. However, it’s expected for Ned and Husso to split the weekend workload so we may see Ned today who will be looking to get his groove back.
The Islanders fanbase is starting to whisper that this could be a year that is pretty darn good. Not the year, but definitely a year. They come to Detroit riding a 5-game win streak where they’ve scored 3 goals or more in every game. Real “this time it’s gonna be different” energy. Detroit sports fans are well acquainted with getting slapped down from that dream.
Guys to watch out for? Brock Nelson, Anders Lee (both for committing sports crimes and avenging sports crimes), and Matthew Barzal are their points leaders. It’ll be interesting to see who they put in net, as we often get backups in situations like this. Ilya Sorokin has been carrying the load but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Semyon Varlamov.
A loss to Detroit would be humbling for the Islanders, and we don’t want to spoil our 1998 party, so seems like the Wings winning would be great for everybody.
Fun fact: The Isles have not gone to OT yet this year.