For lots of New York Islanders followers, the Tuesday evening (Sept. 24) preseason 6-4 loss was a flashback and never the great sort. It introduced again recollections of blown leads from final season and none extra notable than the Stadium Sequence collapse to the identical New York Rangers that beat them once more.
Associated: Islanders Prospect Henrik Tikkanen Taking Huge Strides in AHL
The scapegoat of the loss was Henrik Tikkanen, who allowed 5 targets in 14 minutes to blow the early 3-0 lead. It was a primary impression of Tikkanen on the NHL degree, albeit in an exhibition recreation, and it wasn’t an important one. That stated, his play goes past the tough outing as he’s one of many handful of prospects within the pipeline who offers optimism. It’s additionally not the primary gradual begin for Tikkanen, a tall goaltender who is aware of that the trail to the NHL is an extended one and that there are quite a lot of enhancements that should occur earlier than he’s referred to as upon for a recreation that issues.
Tikkanen’s Tough Debut on the AHL Degree
When Tikkanen was referred to as as much as the American Hockey League (AHL) final season to make his debut on Dec. 29, his head was spinning. Towards a struggling Springfield Thunderbirds crew, he allowed 5 targets on 34 photographs. The Bridgeport Islanders satirically gained that recreation (a shock contemplating they solely gained 25 all season) but it surely was a foul first impression for a goaltender seeking to impress after the promotion from the ECHL.
The subsequent degree is all the time an adjustment for any participant and goaltending significantly requires the largest adjustment. The leap from the ECHL to the AHL is one factor, however taking part in on the NHL degree, even in preseason motion, is an entire totally different recreation. There’s extra talent and higher photographs to cope with.
Ilya Sorokin was terrible in his NHL debut, permitting 5 targets on Jan. 16, 2021, in opposition to the Rangers. The Islanders’ high prospect on the time wanted three video games to acclimate to the NHL, permitting 11 targets within the trio of contests earlier than placing collectively back-to-back shutouts. Tikkanen with out query will even adapt.
Tikkanen’s Enchancment Final Season Supplies Hope
After his AHL debut, Tikkanen proved he was far and past the most effective goaltender within the Islanders’ pipeline. He had a exceptional recreation in opposition to the Hershey Bears, the crew that may go on to win the Calder Cup, in a Jan. 15 recreation the place he stopped 32 of the 33 photographs he confronted to place himself on the AHL map. Then he caught fireplace and went on a tear.
Tikkanen put collectively three begins the place he allowed solely three targets on 98 photographs and he completed February with 5 begins and solely six targets allowed. He was exceptional within the internet to maintain a struggling crew in quite a lot of video games and infrequently allowed the Islanders to win video games they in any other case would have misplaced.
He completed his first season within the AHL with a .930 save share (SV%) and a 2.10 goals-against common (GAA) on 512 photographs. Whereas the win stat isn’t indicative of how properly the goaltender performed, Tikkanen was awarded eight wins for a crew that solely gained 25 video games. The nice play is there however the huge man should work on the small issues.
Tikkanen’s Upside is Exhausting to Ignore
At 6-foot-8 and 222 kilos, it’s onerous to disregard how Tikkanen’s dimension impacts his play within the internet. He doesn’t present quite a lot of taking pictures lanes and he can cease photographs different goaltenders can’t. He additionally has an important glove and might cease fast elevated photographs.
The draw back is that he offers with the identical points that different larger goaltenders cope with. It’s onerous to get better after making the preliminary save and second probability photographs are simple alternatives to seek out the again of the web. The preseason recreation noticed the Rangers rating their first purpose of the sport with Tikkanen out of place after which got here the dagger which was a shot that deflected previous him that he couldn’t react quick sufficient to make the save. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Sergei Bobrovsky struggled with the identical sort of photographs however all through their profession, they’ve labored on their points to turn out to be elite goaltenders.
The underside line is that with time and a full season within the AHL, Tikkanen can turn out to be one thing particular. Positive, the place is hard to guage and he may flail earlier than making it to the NHL. Nonetheless, there’s an important goaltender in him, and if he works on the minor particulars, he can turn out to be the following nice goaltender for the Islanders.
