Isles Fix Podcast Network

In the latest episode of “The Red Line” with co-hosts Phil Farber (@PhilzFacts) and David Tuchman (@TuckOnSports), the boys attempt to pick up the pieces and make sense of it all after the Islanders’ latest third-period collapse against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night.

In this episode:

* Lane Looks lost

* The team isn’t old and slow

* The Mike Reilly acquisition is a good one

* Deficiencies in defensive structure

* A gutsy win vs. Ottawa

* Woe is the shootout

In the latest episode of “The Red Line” with co-hosts Phil Farber (@PhilzFacts) and David Tuchman (@TuckOnSports), the boys got behind the mic immediately following the Islanders 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

In this episode:

* The Isles don’t play much from behind

* Lane’s still here and riding a four-game point streak

* Takeaways from the win vs. PHI

* The tight Metro Division standings

* The American Thanksgiving NHL landmark

In the latest episode of “The Red Line” (the number 1 hockey podcast in Ireland 🇮🇪) with co-hosts Phil Farber (@PhilzFacts) and David Tuchman (@TuckOnSports), the boys are back trying to determine which Defcon level things are at with the Islanders after dropping their fifth straight to Edmonton.

In the latest episode:

* Reasons to be worried

* Reasons not to be worried

* Is it time to move on from Lambert?

* What are the possibilities for a replacement?

* What to do with Anders Lee?

* Battling through adversity

You can listen to Isles Fix podcasts on additional platforms HERE

Listen and Enjoy!

In the latest episode of “The Red Line” with co-hosts Phil Farber (@PhilzFacts) and David Tuchman (@TuckOnSports), the boys are back after a disappointing week that has fans frustrated, losing patience and asking questions.

In the latest episode:

* Blown leads

* Struggles in OT

* Holmstrom making strides

* Martin's diminishing role

* Dobson’s hot start

* Is Lane Lambert the right man for the job?

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In the latest episode of “The Red Line” with co-hosts Phil Farber (@PhilzFacts) and David Tuchman (@TuckOnSports), the boys are joined by a special guest New York Islanders beat writer Stefen Rosner (@Stefen Rosner) of The Hockey News, who joins them live from the LIRR (he wasn’t in the quiet car) to talk about the team through eight games as the calendar turns to November.

In the latest episode:

* Overreactions after small sample sizes

* Lambert’s in-game line change decision

* Mayfield making the trip to DC

* Fasching drawing back into the lineup

* A mixed bag for Barzal (Dave has a cat named Barzal)

* Has “The Perfection Line” been even better than advertised?

In the latest episode of “The Red Line” with co-hosts Phil Farber (@PhilzFacts) and David Tuchman (@TuckOnSports), the boys talk about the Isles slump that hopefully doesn’t turn into a skid as they welcome the Ottawa Senators to UBS Arena later tonight. Plus, they talk about Simon Holmstrom showing off his shot, Ilya Sorokin’s great saves but not great results, concerns over Oliver Wahlstrom’s skating, the team’s penalty kill, and the impact Scott Mayfield’s injury has had on the rest of the defensive group.

Listen and Enjoy!

Good Afternoon, Islanders Country.

After the Isles lost to the Avs, I switched over to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks slowly and painfully stun the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 7 of the NLCS. The 84-win D-Backs, a team that lost nine straight during the summer, had earned a trip to the World Series, the latest proof that the expanded 12-team playoff format is a crapshoot. It’s not the best team, but the team playing the best that matters.

It serves as a reminder of the objective of this 2023-24 New York Islanders season. Just get in, baby. No playoff format, not baseball, and certainly not the NHL with its 16-team postseason tournament, will ever be completely fair after an 82-game regular season. That’s a good thing for the Islanders. As nice as it would be to have a 110-point season and win the Metropolitan Division, that's most likely not this team’s story, but it doesn’t have to be.

So settle in and get used to feeling frustrated some nights and irrationally optimistic others. The same team that will give you hope will also fill you with despair. It’s just the way it’s gonna be - an unpredictable regular season that will hopefully end with a chance to partake in the crapshoot.

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Coming up, the Isles welcome another high-scoring team as their defensemen keep logging heavy minutes. Plus, Hudson Fasching’s mindset after being scratched, the 01-02 team stays red hot on the road and an ice projection show.

Let’s dive in.

📰 NEWS: The Islanders (2-2-1) were back on the practice ice on Wednesday ahead of their game against the Ottawa Senators (3-3-0) tonight at UBS Arena. According to Lane Lambert, defenseman Scott Mayfield skated on his own yesterday, but there remains no timetable for his return from a lower-body injury.

It’ll be another defensive test for the Isles versus a Sens team that is averaging 4.17 goals per game so far this season. Ottawa has struggled in net, with Anton Forsberg having a .873 save percentage and Joonas Korpisalo sporting one at .872.

“Former Future” New York Islanders trade target Vladimir Tarasenko is off to a great start with his new team, scoring three goals and eight points through six games. There are already six Senators with at least three goals this season. In addition to Tarasenko, Jake Sanderson, Josh Norris, Brady Tkachuk, Jakob Chychrun, and Mathieu Joseph all have three goals.

Brock Nelson is the only Islander with three goals.

◾️ For Newsday, Andrew Gross writes about the increased workload that the Islanders defenseman has been faced with Scott Mayfield remaining out of the lineup. Noah Dobson played 19:13 in the first game of the season, the only game Mayfield played in. Since then, he has topped 26 minutes twice.

“I’m never going to complain about playing a lot of minutes,” said Dobson, who is averaging 24:12 of ice time. “It’s still early in the year. If we had three, or four guys playing 25, 26 [minutes] in March, it could probably tax on you a little more.”

A big reason Dobson has played so much is that Lane Lambert does not fully trust Samuel Bolduc in most matchups, as he’s averaging just 8:49 TOI.

“It’s not easy,” Bolduc said of the limited ice time. “But you just have to be ready all the time so when he calls my name to go, I’ll be ready. “It could be better, for sure. There are always things you want to do better in every situation. Be more assertive and think less on the ice, and I’ll be fine.

◾️ In The Hockey News, Stefen Rosner caught up with Hudson Fasching, who has been a healthy scratch the last two games after starting the season on the third line. Fasching is very open about how

"Obviously, you want to be out there. You want to be helping your team, but you try to have a positive attitude about it," said Fasching. "There's no reason to get down on yourself. You want to try and maintain your confidence so when you get another opportunity, you feel good about yourself and feel good about your game.”

Rosner asked Lane Lambert what more he needed to see from Fasching, and although he conceded that he thinks the winger has more to give, it’s more about the internal competition amongst several players for opportunities.

"I don't feel any animosity from coaches or anything," Fasching said. "I mean, look, I'm so grateful that they gave me the opportunity to be here, and I think that's kind of my mindset is, just stay grateful and try to keep working hard.

⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders host Brady Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators later tonight at UBS Arena. Face-off is set for 7:30 PM EDT.

📊 STANDINGS:

📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Mathew Barzal passed Billy Harris by recording his 260th assist (15th in club history). The Isles have allowed 121 shots in their last three games after allowing only 42 in their first two games, and Casey Cizikas became the 10th player in club history to appear in 750 game

🎥 ISLES REWIND: On October 26, 2001, the Islanders became just the fourth team in NHL history to win each of their first six road games to start the season. Oleg Kvasha tied the game at 2-2 in the third period on the power-play (blurry GIF below), and Mariusz Czerkawski was the hero with the game-winning goal in overtime to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2.

🎧 Islanders Award Winners: Mike Bossy, Calder Trophy, 1978 (Part 1) “Mike Bossy’s rookie season in the NHL has been the stuff of legend since it happened. But breaking league records and bringing fans out of their seats as a young phenom hid what was really going on in Bossy’s mind.”

🔗  ‘Very receptive’ Simon Holmstrom adjusting game to shoot more on Islanders’ 3rd line by Joe Pantorno, AMNY “The 22-year-old winger possesses a plus shot. He showed flashes of it last season but was trigger-shy or inaccurate in a rookie campaign that featured just three goals in 50 games. Winning a roster spot from rookie camp, he was given a chance to start the season on the right wing of the first line alongside center Bo Horvat and winger Mathew Barzal.”

And we leave you with this…a snippet of the Islanders’ ice projection, one of the perks of being in a fourth-generation arena. Watch the whole presentation, with music HERE

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In the latest episode of “The Red Line” with co-hosts Phil Farber (@PhilzFacts) and David Tuchman (@TuckOnSports), the boys break down the Islanders’ win over the Arizona Coyotes and offer additional early impressions.

In this episode:

* Aho’s strong game on his weak side

* Dobson contributes to PK

* The PP looks confident

* Is Lee-Pageau-Fasching the right mix?

* A gimme shutout for Sorokin

Listen and then dive in.

📰 NEWS: Defenseman Scott Mayfield missing Tuesday night’s game meant that not only did Sebastian Aho have to step up into a bigger role, but it also meant the left-handed defenseman had to move over to the right side. The change, surprisingly, led to one of the more sound all-around games of his career.

Per Rosner in The Hockey News, in 16:23 total minutes, 15:03 at even-strength, Aho recorded five shots on goal (tied with Mathew Barzal for team lead) on seven attempts, with a block, a hit, zero giveaways, and drew a penalty. 

Aho’s development into a trustworthy third-pair defenseman has been a pleasant surprise. It wasn’t a given that he’d be brought back before last season, and now it feels that losing him for any considerable time would be a blow to the team. It is just another example of how it takes a defenseman sometimes a bit longer to fully develop into a reliable part of the lineup.

WORKOUT BUDDIES: When the Isles signed Zach Parise two seasons ago (and perhaps part of a third later this season), the organization assumed that his work ethic would have a positive experience on the rest of the team.

It did, and it wasn't only his work ethic but also his workout routine that left an impression on Mathew Barzal.

On the NHL Network's Player's Only segment with Mike Rupp and Thomas Hickey, Rupp brought up Parise's use of ARP (Accelerated Recovery Performance), a technique Rupp watched the 18-year veteran swear by both in New Jersey and in Minnesota.

"I do the ARP, too; he was my workout buddy during the season. He's psycho when it comes to it. I lay off it a little bit during the season, but he's full put the pads on the forehead and do all that stuff, but it's worked! He's played 18 years, 1,200 games, it worked for sure."

⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders finish up their opening three-game home stand when they host the New Jersey Devils on Friday night at UBS Arena. Face-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM EDT.

📊 STANDINGS:

◾️ This interactive diagram from FastModel Sports shows how the Islanders scored on the power play on Tuesday night. Noah Dobson drags aggressively to the middle as the Isles hustle to get into a 1-3-1 setup. Dobson sets up Barzal, who had gone into his shooting position for the one-timer. Pretty cool.

📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, the Isles’ 1-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes marks the first time since 2014-15 that the Isles have opened 2-0-0 and only the sixth time in franchise history that they have done so; it's the first time they have ever done so by winning both games at home. In 2014-15, the team opened up 4-0-0 with a shootout victory over the San Jose Sharks.

🎥 ISLES REWINDOn October 19, 2005, Miroslav Satan fired a wrist shot past rookie Henrik Lundqvist to help beat the New York Rangers 3-2 in a shootout at Madison Square Garden. Alexei Yashin also had a tally for the Islanders (3-3-0), and Rick DiPietro had 33 saves on the 35 shots he faced after missing the last two games because of a concussion. The Islanders went 2-for-8 on the power play and blew a two-goal lead in regulation before winning in the shootout.

🔗 Islanders’ Noah Dobson Shows There’s More To His Game On PK by Andrew Fantucchio “Without Mayfield–whose 363 short-handed minutes leads the team over the last three seasons– the Islanders had no choice but to rely on Noah Dobson and his questionable history defensively.”

🔗 The Bridgeport Report: Oct. 17, 2023 by Alan Fuehring, NewYorkIslanders.com “The Bridgeport Islanders showed lots of persistence and promise this past weekend, opening the 2023-24 regular season with a 1-1-0-0 record on the road. The Islanders beat the Rochester Americans in overtime on Friday night before falling to the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday.”

And we leave you with this…Tom LoFaso wears an Isles jersey to every home game. And in honor of Matt Martin’s 900th game, pulled out a No. 46! Reebox Edge. Nicely done.

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Phil “Factz” Farber (@PhilzFacts) and Dave Tuchman (@TuchOnSports) are back to get you ready for the start of the 2023-24 season tomorrow night when the Islanders open their season against the Buffalo Sabres at UBS Arena.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: For those who asked, you can now find the show on additional platforms, including iTunes, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and more.

In today’s episode, Simon Holmstrom gets a shot with the top guys while Oliver Wahlstrom is still searching for his game. Plus, Pierre Engvall and his contract are looking damn good, Hudson Fasching earning his way, a new home for Ross Johnston, and early observations on the first slate of NHL games.

In the first episode of The Red Line, hosts David Tuchman and Phil Faber get you ready for the start of another season of New York Islanders hockey. Phil and Dave debate the narrative that the Islanders have "run it back" from last year, the ceiling for players like newcomer Julian Gauthier, and where they're still lacking on defense. Plus, their outlook on prospect William Dufour, the returning Oliver Wahlstrom, and where they'll finish in the Metropolitan standings.