00:00That's four straight dubs by Patty Wise boys after starting the season 0-3.
00:05Wise made some tough changes and decisions to both his roster and coaching staff,
00:09but it seems like this team is trending in the right direction.
00:13So let's talk some Alice hockey with Stephan Rosner from NHL.com and the El Monters.
00:19My guy, first time talking this year in a long time, man.
00:22I hope all's been well, but let's go straight into what's been going on on the island.
00:28Again, four straight after dropping his first three.
00:32So how big of a win was it last night against Detroit?
00:36And what has stuck out to you most about this team during one last night's win
00:41and during this four-game run, man?
00:43Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest thing that you see from last night
00:46is they took advantage of the schedule.
00:47The Detroit Red Wings had just lost 4-2 to Buffalo the night before.
00:50They were a tired team and the Islanders made them pay,
00:52but this is an Islanders team that's learning a new system,
00:55a new style under Matthew Darch, the GM, and philosophies that Patrick Watt has.
00:59And they want to play a fun, fast, exciting brand of hockey.
01:02And unfortunately, there are some guys that just took a little bit longer
01:05for them to figure it out.
01:05But last night was the definition of, I don't want to call it perfect,
01:08but as perfect as we've seen this team play.
01:11They were scoring off the rush, scoring seven goals,
01:13but they're also defending off the rush.
01:15They were really quick with their reads.
01:16So it was a really impressive performance.
01:18And I just think this is how the Islanders have to play.
01:20If they're going to play like this and play defensively
01:22the way they played last night, things bode well for this team.
01:25And I think they're going to keep the winning going.
01:27Yeah, and you heard Patrick Watt say after the game
01:30that David Riddick was absolutely outstanding in goal last night.
01:34They fired the old goalie coach on Monday after the win over the Sharks.
01:38I know it's only one game, Stephan,
01:40but overall you feel like that changeup was the right move.
01:45Did you see an immediate improvement in goal?
01:48Yeah, I think you saw, I think it was an immediate improvement
01:51with the team in general.
01:52When you see a coach get fired, usually it's not always the coach's fault.
01:55And it's hard to blame Piero Greco who's been here
01:57since Lula Murillo got here back before the start of the 2018-19 season
02:01to blame them for the goaltending issues,
02:02especially the struggles with Ilya Sorokin.
02:05I think it's about accountability.
02:06I think Matthew Darch making that move, you know,
02:08woke the team up a little bit.
02:09You saw them play their best defensive brand of hockey
02:12in front of their goalie.
02:13And David Riddick played phenomenal.
02:14And you hope to see Ilya Sorokin play phenomenal when he starts against Philly.
02:18So I think the goaltending looked great,
02:20but I think overall it would just send a message that, you know,
02:22Darch may be new here, but he's going to make changes
02:24if he thinks changes are necessary.
02:26And that puts onus on everybody from the goalies
02:28to the defense to the forwards.
02:29So I think it woke the group up for sure defensively.
02:32Yeah, as a player, it puts you on notice too.
02:35It also lets you know that management or the people upstairs,
02:38the front office, they're not afraid to make a change
02:41or a tough decision.
02:43And you kind of, you like to say, you like to see that.
02:45So I think that, I mean, just watching it,
02:47I think it was a tough decision, but it was the right move to make.
02:51Let's look ahead a little bit because Long Island native Marshall Warren
02:56is going to make his NHL debut tomorrow versus Philly.
03:00For the folks that may not be familiar with who this kid is,
03:03what's he going to bring to this roster?
03:05Yeah, he's from Laurel Hollow, Long Island.
03:08Grew up a diehard Islander fan.
03:09And you saw a call-up coming for him.
03:12This is a guy that looked really good in training camp
03:14and preseason, really fast, more of a two-way defenseman.
03:17He doesn't get enough credit, I don't think, for his offense.
03:19But he's overall sound in all three zones.
03:22And he was named AHL Player of the Week last week.
03:24Had five points in four games with Bridgeport.
03:26And he's going to bring a spark.
03:27And also, having a guy from Long Island that skated iceworks,
03:31their old practice ring, played in the Junior Islander programs
03:33for the little kids, to now get to wear that crest in an NHL game.
03:36And I'll throw this fun story out there.
03:38Last year, the Islanders went to Philly for preseason
03:40and they brought Marshall Warren, but he didn't play.
03:42And Patrick Waugh said, I want to give him a taste
03:44of what it could be like.
03:46He took warm-ups, but he never got into the game.
03:48And it's cool that his first NHL game will come in that building,
03:51the one that he didn't get to play in last year.
03:53And he's earned the right to do that tomorrow.
03:54That's pretty dope, man.
03:56Overall, as a team, again, they play Philly tomorrow.
03:59Can they keep this momentum going?
04:01Yeah, if they can play the way they played defensively,
04:03last year, and their goaltenders don't have to worry
04:05about being perfect, they could play against any team
04:07in this league and find a way to win.
04:08And the Flyers, they're not going to be a great team this year.
04:12And they play Boston, who's really struggled late in the week
04:14before going to Carolina and Washington.
04:17These next two games are huge.
04:18You go from down 0-3 to start the year,
04:20losing your first three games.
04:22You rattle off four wins, and the vibes are immaculate right now,
04:24from practice to the locker room to the wins, the crowd.
04:29Everything's on your side.
04:30So if the Islanders can play the way they played last night
04:32or close to that, things bode well for them going forward.
04:35I mean, this is, you know, it's a long road.
04:37You know, as an athlete, like, the season's a long grind.
04:39But if you get these wins early, they count as much as the wins
04:41late in for the Islanders.
04:42They could get the win against Philly and build on their win
04:45against Detroit.
04:46That's huge for the momentum of this group.
04:48Yeah, it's all about stacking Ws, man.
04:49That momentum can carry over.
04:51And you never know what can happen throughout the course of the season.
04:54So if you can go on some sort of run early in the season,
04:57that kind of helps you on the back end if you're dealing with injuries
05:00or just you're on the bad end of a run, you know.
05:04So I love what Patty Ws is doing, man.
05:07Love how he's come in, had that, taking that tough guy approach,
05:11but at the same time being able to read the room and make these changes.
05:16And, man, we've been doing these videos for these interviews
05:19for a couple years now, man.
05:21Appreciate you always hopping on.
05:22I love what you're doing out there, man.
05:24Keep going.
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