Is the Islanders' four-overtime "Easter Epic," the greatest victory in franchise history? Some critics believe that the melodramatic seventh game triumph over Washington on April 18, 1987 fills the bill. Check out Fischler's Flashback for your answer. Stan was there to see it firsthand! As we approach New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/new-york-islanders-lane-lambert-prospects-flyers-press-conference-1] opening night, the battle for a few possible varsity openings becomes vise-like tight. Potential varsity aspirants such as William Dufour and Samuel Bolduc have arrested attention in one way or another. Who'll survive the final cuts before the home opener at UBS Arena against Buffalo on Saturday, October 14, still remains to be seen: and that's a good thing. Starting last Saturday -- with the home win over the New York Rangers -- the high command has been debating who goes and who stays. As for the past week, The Maven's two choices in the Good News Department: 1. The return of Kyle Palmieri to workouts following his undisclosed injury and 2. The continued blending of Mat Barzal and Bo Horvat. As for the guys I'm watching, start with Oliver Whalstrom, who's high on the Lane Lambert attention scale. The coach's most relevant comment about OW is "I'm confident that he's getting up to speed." You don't hear too much about Arnaud Durandeau, but he's one of The Maven's faves because he reminds me of an idol I had as a kid. He played for the Atlantic City Seagulls, and his name was Rollie Duranceau. And one more thing: I'm loving Calle Odelius [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/calle-odelius-new-york-islanders-prospect-defenseman-europe-lambert], a finesse defenseman who's been a "Future Watch" fella for two years now. Finally, how many of you citizens of Islanders Country are aware that there's only one PTO guy in camp? Minnesotan Jackson Cates, a 26-year-old center, is a fugitive from the Flyers' system. "I've liked him," says Lambert. (Bridgeport might appreciate him as well) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AND ON THE UNIVERSITY BEAT: Thanks to Jayson Hajou at College Hockey, Inc. I have a list of the sons of former Islanders now playing NCAA hockey. Try these on for size going alphabetically: ADRIAN AUCOIN: (Kyle at Harvard.) JASON BLAKE: (Jackson at North Dakota.) TOM CHORSKE: (Brett at Colgate) TOM FITZGERALD (Brendan at New Hampshire) SCOTT LACHANCE (Shane at BU) DWAYNE ROLOSON ( Brett and Ross at Lake Superior State) MIKE SILLINGER (Lukas at Arizona State) BRYAN SMOLINSKI (Max at Rensselaer) JOHN TONELLI (Jordan and Zackary at Brown) DOUG WEIGHT (Danny at Colorado College)
