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Islanders 3, Flames 2: Got the points after Holmstrom pair

· Yahoo Sports

Magical duo. | Getty Images

For the third Islanders game in a row, a team got out to a 3-0 lead and had trouble holding it. This time, however, the Islanders — after lamenting their slow starts — got that early lead only to make things tough on themselves in the third.

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Still, they hung on for the two points after the Flames tested them with two goals in the first half of the third period. They received some big saves from Dave Rittich and held on for a 3-2 win that they just had to have, with Columbus nipping at their heels for Metro playoff spots and the Atlantic offering two wild card holders who have more points.

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Things got off to a slow start with only 5 total shots through the first 10 minutes, when Casey Cizikas opened scoring by driving the net and stuffing it until the puck got over the line.

Simon Holmstrom then added a pair of his own to finish out the 3-0 lead before the buzzer for the first intermission. That included another bit of shorthanded magic with his running mate and confidence guru J-G Pageau.

Holmstrom’s prior goal came on a feed from Brayden Schenn, which moves the newcomer out of that 58-way tie for 444th all-time among Islanders points scorers. He escapes Danton Cole and Jason Strudwick territory to join luminaries like Carson Souch and Andy Andreoff with two points in his Islanders tenure.

That combo was actually part of the big news, and latest line tinkering, heading into the game. Anthony Duclair stepped in and Schenn centered him and Holmstrom, sending Cal Ritchie to the Anders Lee-JG Pageau line. Ondrej Palat was on the fourth line with Casey Cizikas and Kyle MacLean.

If it felt like things could be on cruise control leading 3-0 against one of the league’s bottom feeders with 20 minutes to go, the Flames had other ideas. Led by captain Mikael Backlund’s tip-in 2:17 in, they were not going away. When Blake Colelman (why wasn’t he firesaled at the deadline?) made it 3-2 at 8:28, the rest of the game was damned uncomfortable.

The Blue Jackets won in a shootout, the Red Wings rallied from 2-0 down in the third to get a regulation point, and Pittsburgh was leading Utah in the third at the time of this writing. There is a major playoff race fight going on, and just because the Isles have been in playoff position for a couple months running doesn’t mean they’re not a bad couple games away from falling below the line.

Rittich Returns the Love

“I don’t know if I ever played in front of better fans than what we have here. We really appreciate them showing up to support and cheering for every single one of us.”

>>David Rittich after fans chanted his name in the first and third

Up Next

The Islanders begin a Canada tour next week, starting with a visit to free-falling Toronto on Tuesday before stops in Ottawa and Montreal.

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Middle East crisis: How will Americans pay for the Iran war as oil prices soar

· Times of India

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The next Adam Wharton is coming to Liverpool, and he's special

· Yahoo Sports

The next Adam Wharton is coming to Liverpool, and he's special

The next Adam Wharton is at Liverpool and he will be coming to join the club's first-team soon.

Who doesn't love the Crystal Palace midfielder?

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He’s a throwback to an era of old. The low socks, Adidas Predators, and a footballing intelligence that puts him ahead of everyone else on the pitch. He is what most people fall in love with while watching the game.

In many ways, Wharton evokes memories of a prime Thiago Alcântara. His game reading is exceptional, his first touch immaculate, and his line-breaking passes consistently create an advantage for his team.

In order to replacement Trent Alexander-Arnold, there is no denying that Wharton would be the ideal choice.

At the moment, there’s arguably no one in the Premier League who combines the qualities Alexander-Arnold had than Wharton. It’s why he’s already an England international and why so many Liverpool fans have him on their wishlist.

But here's an exciting caveat: Liverpool fans don't need to wait long for the next Wharton, he's already at the club and he will be with the first-team soon.

Let us introduce you to U18 midfielder Haydn Murray-Holme, who might just be the biggest gem hiding away in Liverpool's academy right now.

Like Wharton, Murray-Holme is a touch of old-school, but there's an element of modernity about him as well. He's an elegant midfielder with sublime technical qualities and the awareness to pick out a pass from anywhere.

Murray-Holme's vision and scanning on the pitch is akin to that of Wharton. As is his distribution.

He has one goal and five assists in 23 appearances so far for the club's U18 and U19 side this season. Those are decent numbers for a midfielder player but what are even more impressive are his underlying figures.

First of all, Murray-Holme is a player who reads the game astutely and he can contribute in the defensive side of the game as a midfielder.

This season he has made 4.91 recoveries per 90 minutes in the opposition's half, which is a very impressive return. He's won 63.4% of his 6.63 defensive duels per 90 while averaging 3.27 interceptions per 90 minutes.

But it's in possession where the midfielder really thrives.

On the ball, he is one of a kind - the most technical player the academy has produced since Alexander-Arnold.

Murray-Holme has a sublime first-touch and he can wrap his foot around the ball to execute a number of different passes, from audacious through balls with the outside of his foot to long and extremely precise long balls over the top of opposition defenders.

In a lot of ways Murray-Holme is very similar to Wharton. He's an extremely effective player at breaking lines. And he becomes a cheat-code who can unlock any defence, putting teams on the backfoot.

He has averaged the most progressive passes (12.5 per 90 minutes) among midfielders in the U18 Premier League. He's averaged the third most passes into the opposition's final third (13.56 per 90 minutes).

He's already been promoted to play for the U21 team in a friendly, and given the qualities he has and what Liverpool need, it won't be long until Murray-Holme joins Liverpool's first-team.

In the process, the Reds will have their very own version of Wharton. Remember the name.

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