It’s not quite Babe Ruth calling his shot, but Brock Nelson will come away from Hockey Fights Cancer Night with quite the story to tell.
In the first intermission of the Islanders’ 3-1 win over the Blues on Saturday, Nelson was informed during a walk-off interview with MSG’s Shannon Hogan that he was Henry Schafer’s favorite player.
And Schafer, an 8-year-old survivor of leukemia, wanted to see him score in-person on Saturday night.
Nelson said he would do his best.
The next period, with the Islanders on the power play, Nelson took a feed from Max Tsyplakov while on his knees in the slot and whipped it in for a 2-0 lead.
“Fun on a night like that to go out and do that,” Nelson said. “Shannon and I just briefly talked about positive energy, a little bit of manifestation and just trying to go out there. It’s special that was a request from him and happy to do that.”
Nelson, per a post on X from Hogan, signed an Islanders hat for Schafer after the game: “To Henry, Thanks for the luck!”
“Fans are important to us, the cause is even more,” coach Patrick Roy said. “Everybody’s touched by that. And to see that Nellie scored that goal for that could, we could not ask for any better scenario.”
The goal also put Nelson into the franchise top-10 all time in points scored — he would finish the night tied for ninth with John Tonelli after adding an assist on Kyle Palmieri’s empty-net goal in the final minute.
He’s got 544 career points now. It’s safe to say this one ranked among the most memorable.
“I’ve been fortunate to be here a long time, play with a lot of great players, it’s a storied franchise,” Nelson said. “Lucky to be a part of it for so long. Have a great group of guys. I’m fortunate to play with a lot of great players over the years. Have a lot of memories and more to come.”
Ilya Sorokin recorded his 100th victory as an NHL goalie.
“It’s a good result, but it’s too many games played for 100th win,” said Sorokin, who has played 205 games.
Roy was more jovial about it, joking, “500 more for Marty Brodeur, isn’t it?” — a reference to Brodeur’s record 691 career victories.
Roy questioned the goalie interference call that negated Noah Dobson’s third-period goal after a Blues challenge.
“It’s hard to understand now what exactly is the rule for goalie interference,” he said. “I’m pretty sure for them it’s the same thing. There’s a lot of gray areas there.”
