Islanders Morning Skate: Sorokin Back Between The Pipes vs. Boston, Ritchie Chat
Calum Ritchie remains as the No. 2 center as the Islanders try to push their win streak to three games and end Boston's.
ELMONT, NY — After a thrilling come-from-behind win to kick off their three-game homestand, the New York Islanders (6-5-1) look to keep the momentum rolling as they host the Boston Bruins (7-7-0) tonight at UBS Arena.
Puck drop: 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: UBS Arena
TV: MSGSN
These teams met just a week ago in Boston, where the Bruins stormed back from a 2-0 deficit to win 5-2. New York got first-period goals from Bo Horvat and Kyle Palmieri, but Boston seized control with three in the middle frame.
Morning Skate Updates
The Islanders’ only lineup change comes in goal.
Ilya Sorokin (3-4-1, 3.44 GAA, .877 SV%) returns to the crease after sitting out Sunday’s win over Columbus. His last start came against Washington, where he turned aside 22 of 23 shots in one of his best performances of the season.
Lines:
Heineman-Horvat-Barzal
Duclair-Ritchie-Palmieri
Lee-Pageau-Holmstrom
MacLean-Cizikas-Ducair
Pelech-Pulock
Schaefer-Mayfield
Romanov-DeAngelo
Sorokin
Rittich
Islanders Notes
Matthew Schaefer continues to build his already-growing legend. The 18-year-old became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to record a multi-goal game, breaking a record previously held by Bobby Orr.
Simon Holmstrom enters on a three-game point streak (2G, 1A), including the overtime winner Sunday.
Bo Horvat is two assists shy of 300 for his NHL career after picking up a helper Sunday on Schaefer’s first goal.
Mathew Barzal has assists in five straight matchups vs. Boston (6 total).
Kyle Palmieri has 15 goals in 37 games vs. Boston — most among Islanders skaters.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau leads active Islanders in points vs. Boston (27 in 43 games).
Sorokin is 4-4-2 with a 2.87 GAA and .898 SV% in 10 career appearances vs. the Bruins.
Bruins Notes
Boston enters off a 2-1 win over Carolina, with Casey Mittelstadt and Viktor Arvidsson scoring early in the third and Jeremy Swayman stopping 28 of 29.
Pavel Zacha has a three-game assist streak and points in four straight vs. the Isles (2G, 4A).
Long Beach native Charlie McAvoy has points in eight straight games against the Islanders (1G, 11A).
David Pastrnak is on a three-game goal streak and four-game point streak vs. NYI (4G, 4A). He leads all Bruins vs. NYI with 37 points (13G, 24A) in 35 games.
Jeremy Swayman (4-4-0, 3.14 GAA, .896 SV%) gets the start. He’s 1-1-0 with a 1.02 GAA and .956 SV% in two career games vs. the Isles.
Q & A With Calum Ritchie
Q: Was there a plan in place to call you up at a certain point regardless of roster movement, or did the Barzal situation accelerate it?
Calum Ritchie: “I’m not sure how all that works, but I know when they sent me back, they were happy with my camp and just wanted me to continue to develop down in Bridgeport. I thought I had a pretty good start there, learned a lot, and got those three games in. They gave me some good feedback, and they were happy with me. Getting the call was pretty surprising — I’m just glad to be here.”
Q: It was only a few weeks in Bridgeport — did you feel like that was enough time to get what you needed out of it?
Ritchie: “Yeah, obviously I missed a couple games with a small injury, but getting some pro games in before playing a regular-season NHL game was really helpful. Every step — preseason, then two games in the NHL, and now here — I’ve learned a lot. Just trying to take it all in and learn every day.”
Q: Does this feel different from your time in Colorado last season, or too soon to tell?
Ritchie: “Too soon to tell, but I definitely feel more comfortable. Last year, we struggled a bit in the D-zone. Here, we’ve been playing pretty solid defensively with Palms and Dru. They’ve helped me a ton.”
Q: Have you joked with Sorokin about your only career goal coming against him yet?
Ritchie: laughs “No, I haven’t — I’m not sure if he even knows that.”
Q: What was the process like learning this system? Any similarities to what you played in Colorado?
Ritchie: “It’s actually really similar, so the transition was pretty easy. There are a few different details, but Patty’s been great at helping me out. And with Drouin and Palms, I can ask them anything. They know what they’re doing. It’s been really good.”
Q: What’s it been like working with Benoit Desrosiers on face-offs?
Ritchie: “Yeah, he’s been great. He’s been sending me videos and pointing out smaller details — how I set up, comparing me to certain guys in the league. After every practice, he’s dropping pucks for me. I’m going against Pager, Bo, Zeke, Mac — all those guys. It’s been really helpful.”
Q: Anyone around the league you try to model faceoffs after?
Ritchie: “Not too much. I think you just look at certain guys and their tendencies. There’s a big pre-scout — you see what the other team’s going to do. Pager is so smart on draws. The way he thinks — I’ve never really thought that way before. He knows what the other guy is going to do before he does it. It’s pretty interesting.”
Q: You’ve worked with Ray Bennett before — how has that relationship carried over here?
Ritchie: “He was great in Colorado and helped me a lot. He ran the power play there. During camp here, he kept giving me advice — defensively, offensively, power play. He’s been really helpful.”
Q: Did you stay in touch with Jonathan Drouin before the trade?
Ritchie: “Yeah, he reached out a few times last season, especially at World Juniors when we were struggling. He was checking in on me. He’s been great to me since we met, so it’s awesome having him here.”