The New York Islanders swept the season series against the New York Rangers. The back-to-back wins at home and home, put an exclamation point on the matchups. For many hockey fans, this isn’t significant but it’s a big deal. The Islanders and Rangers hate losing and especially hate losing against each other.
The 2024 Stadium Series, where the Rangers embarrassed the Islanders, was a defining moment in the Lou Lamoriello tenure, arguably the beginning of the end. With both teams heading in opposite directions, there’s no doubt that Rangers owner James Dolan wasn’t happy about it. Changes might be on the way, even if Dolan signaled confidence in the front office.
Related: Rangers Can Use An Isles-Like Retool
The big-picture look at this is that the Islanders take over as the dominant team in New York City. It’s hard to compare Matthew Schaefer or anyone, for that matter, to Denis Potvin, yet in his rookie season, he’s already swung momentum to the Islanders in this rivalry. It will have the Rangers looking for their future star and other major changes to put together a rebuild that the Islanders have. Plus, it won’t be long before the Rangers fans replace the “Potvin sucks” chants with Schaefer sucks” (and the Islanders can market socks because of it).
Oilers Still Have The Sharks Number
The Edmonton Oilers trailed 3-0 against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night and came back to win 4-3 in overtime. The last time the Oilers lost to the Sharks was in November of 2023, and it’s a reminder that while the rebuilding teal team is good, they still aren’t in the same tier as the Connor McDavid-led Oil.
Everyone is waiting for the torch to be passed or at least wondering when it will happen. Macklin Celebrini might eventually become the best player in the NHL, and the Sharks might be the best team in the Western Conference. Not so fast!
The game against the Oilers was a reminder otherwise. It’s also a good display of where the Sharks must add to close the gap with the class of the conference. The recent game was a good reminder that the Sharks can use their version of Evan Bouchard, who scored the game-tying goal to force overtime. They don’t have an elite scoring defenseman, and it will be interesting to see where they add one.
More Quick Hits
- The Montreal Canadiens scored seven goals against the Colorado Avalanche and four against the Buffalo Sabres. They have the offense to be a contender but what about the goaltending? They addressed that by replacing their goaltending coach, hoping a new face would revitalize the current group. If that’s what happens, watch out for this team!
- It’s time to bust the myth that teams don’t want to do trades with teams within their divisions. The Islanders, making deals with the Rangers and the New Jersey Devils, are another case in point but teams are always looking for the best offer, regardless of the team involved (for more on this, check out a preseason episode of Ice Time).
- The Penn State game against Michigan State in Happy Valley was cool. Beaver Stadium is an ideal spot for an outdoor hockey game, and the matchup lived up to the hype with the prospects shining and the Spartans taking it in overtime.
- The fascination is that there were two outdoor games this weekend, and many preferred the one in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the NHL versus college, or maybe because everyone anticipated chaos in the Stadium Series game.
- Speaking of the chaos. There was a goalie fight in the Stadium Series! The hot take is that this was the most iconic moment for an outdoor game since the first Winter Classic, when Sidney Crosby scored the shootout goal.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs are struggling and sit in last place in the Atlantic Division. Many people want to blame the core. The defense has been their weakness, which is allowing 3.44 goals per game.
