New York Islanders vs. Rangers 2017 Preseason Recap: Penalties Galore

The rest of the New York Islanders training camp roster took to the ice against the Rangers at MSG. It was a learning curve for everyone as refs called absolutely everything.

New York Islanders fans, and the rest of the NHL public were warned before preseason started. The league would be calling more stick infractions. Specifically, slashes to the hand.

This was new Senior Vice President of Player Safety George Parros’ call on day one in the new office. Yeah. That’s the same guy who’s famous mustache and fists patrolled the league for years.

And with that simple edict, we were all in for one heck of a game. By the end of the night, both sides had 18 penalties called against one another. And 9 of those being slashing.

Like Brendan Burke said on Twitter. Like it or not. We, including the players, were warned. We now get to quantify just how often this happens.

What Else Happened?

Outside of the ludicrous number of penalties being called, there was an actual game at hand. I know! With all the power play chances though no one could break the deadlock through 60 minutes.

More from NY Islanders News

• Islanders Third Period Meltdown in Minnesota Ends Point Streak
• Islanders vs. Wild: Zach Parise returns to Minnesota (lineup, odds, +)
• Islanders vs. Jets Three takeaways: Ilya Sorok(ing) is my name
• Islanders vs Jets: Isles significant underdog in Winnipeg (lines, odds, +)
• Islanders: Brock Nelson Nets 4 in Dominant Win Over Montreal

It was a slog through the first 40 as penalties were dished out left-right-and-center. But by the third-period things had calmed down and the game opened up.

If you look at the shot totals it looks like the Islanders were completely dominated. With shots finishing 42-17 by the end of the third. The flow of the games certainly didn’t feel one-sided. But something has to be said about the Isles ineffectiveness on the power play.

Even come the extra frame the Islanders looked right in the game with a few good chances. Until Brock Nelson struck, twice.

First, he laid an egg right in the slot with a perfect look on goal. Sitting there with a great chance, Nelson froze and had the puck stripped. Then, moments later, Nelson again, was caught somewhere

Then, moments later, Nelson again, was caught somewhere else, maybe wishing he was still playing in this summers Da Beauty League, Nelson was emphatically embarrassed as Rangers rookie Neal Pionk just skated around him like he wasn’t there and score the winning goal.

Next: Andrew Ladd 2017-18 Season Preview

The Isles weren’t perfect, but they didn’t deserve to go down like that. So we all learned something today. The refs are going to call a sneeze two minutes for slashing 2017-18 and Brock Nelson hasn’t changed one bit.