For a lot of New York Islanders fans, the Tuesday night (Sept. 24) preseason 6-4 loss was a flashback and not the good type. It brought back memories of blown leads from last season and none more notable than the Stadium Series collapse to the same New York Rangers that beat them again.
Related: Islanders Prospect Henrik Tikkanen Taking Big Strides in AHL
The scapegoat of the loss was Henrik Tikkanen, who allowed five goals in 14 minutes to blow the early 3-0 lead. It was a first impression of Tikkanen at the NHL level, albeit in an exhibition game, and it wasn’t a great one. That said, his play goes beyond the rough outing as he’s one of the handful of prospects in the pipeline who provides optimism. It’s also not the first slow start for Tikkanen, a tall goaltender who knows that the path to the NHL is a long one and that there are a lot of improvements that must happen before he’s called upon for a game that matters.
Tikkanen’s Rough Debut at the AHL Level
When Tikkanen was called up to the American Hockey League (AHL) last season to make his debut on Dec. 29, his head was spinning. Against a struggling Springfield Thunderbirds team, he allowed five goals on 34 shots. The Bridgeport Islanders ironically won that game (a surprise considering they only won 25 all season) but it was a bad first impression for a goaltender looking to impress after the promotion from the ECHL.
The next level is always an adjustment for any player and goaltending particularly requires the biggest adjustment. The leap from the ECHL to the AHL is one thing, but playing at the NHL level, even in preseason action, is a whole different game. There’s more skill and better shots to deal with.
Ilya Sorokin was awful in his NHL debut, allowing five goals on Jan. 16, 2021, against the Rangers. The Islanders’ top prospect at the time needed three games to acclimate to the NHL, allowing 11 goals in the trio of contests before putting together back-to-back shutouts. Tikkanen without question will also adapt.
Tikkanen’s Improvement Last Season Provides Hope
After his AHL debut, Tikkanen proved he was far and beyond the best goaltender in the Islanders’ pipeline. He had a remarkable game against the Hershey Bears, the team that would go on to win the Calder Cup, in a Jan. 15 game where he stopped 32 of the 33 shots he faced to put himself on the AHL map. Then he caught fire and went on a tear.
Tikkanen put together three starts where he allowed only three goals on 98 shots and he finished February with five starts and only six goals allowed. He was remarkable in the net to keep a struggling team in a lot of games and often allowed the Islanders to win games they otherwise would have lost.
He finished his first season in the AHL with a .930 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.10 goals-against average (GAA) on 512 shots. While the win stat isn’t indicative of how well the goaltender played, Tikkanen was awarded eight wins for a team that only won 25 games. The great play is there but the big guy must work on the small things.
Tikkanen’s Upside is Hard to Ignore
At 6-foot-8 and 222 pounds, it’s hard to ignore how Tikkanen’s size impacts his play in the net. He doesn’t provide a lot of shooting lanes and he can stop shots other goaltenders can’t. He also has a great glove and can stop quick elevated shots.
The downside is that he deals with the same issues that other bigger goaltenders deal with. It’s hard to recover after making the initial save and second chance shots are easy opportunities to find the back of the net. The preseason game saw the Rangers score their first goal of the game with Tikkanen out of position and then came the dagger which was a shot that deflected past him that he couldn’t react fast enough to make the save. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Sergei Bobrovsky struggled with the same type of shots but throughout their career, they’ve worked on their issues to become elite goaltenders.
The bottom line is that with time and a full season in the AHL, Tikkanen can become something special. Sure, the position is tough to evaluate and he could flail before making it to the NHL. However, there’s a great goaltender in him, and if he works on the minor details, he can become the next great goaltender for the Islanders.
