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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