Brock Nelson finishes October strong for Islanders
Islanders centerman Brock Nelson and right wing Cal Clutterbuck speak during the third period of an NHL game against the Avalanche on Saturday at UBS Arena. Credit: AP/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez
Another Brocktober has come to an end and, once again, Brock Nelson is among the Islanders’ leaders in goals and points. The third period of the last two games let him close out the month on a strong note.
Not that Nelson is finely attuned to the mythos of Brocktober, a moniker for his numerous strong starts to seasons.
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Another Brocktober has come to an end and, once again, Brock Nelson is among the Islanders’ leaders in goals and points. The third period of the last two games let him close out the month on a strong note.
Not that Nelson is finely attuned to the mythos of Brocktober, a moniker for his numerous strong starts to seasons.
“I hear it a lot,” Nelson said. “But, no, even last year, I don’t know what the numbers would have been, it probably wasn’t my best month. I think it’s just a fun thing for the fans to have a good time with it. Whenever it started, I think they enjoyed it and try to carry it on.
“The calendar keeps going for me.”
Nelson contributed to the Islanders’ current three-game winning streak with three goals in the last two games. They stand as the only goals scored by an Islanders center in Brocktober, er, October.
The Islanders (5-4-0), who did not practice on Sunday, open a three-game road trip on Tuesday night in Chicago.
Nelson’s empty-netter proved to be the winning goal as the Islanders rallied for a 5-4 win over the Stanley Cup champion Avalanche on Saturday night at UBS Arena. Nelson also scored twice in the third period in the previous night’s 6-2 road win over the Hurricanes.
His three goals are tied for the second most on the team, as are his six assists and nine points. Linemate Anders Lee is tied with Oliver Wahlstrom with a team-high four goals.
Nelson took 24 shots in the Islanders’ first nine games so his shooting percentage of 12.5 is down from last season’s 21.6.
“He has been good,” coach Lane Lambert said. “I just think he’s really skating. When he gets going, he’s a terrific skater. I think that leads into everything with his game so he’s been really moving his legs.”
Nelson said he was encouraged even before scoring his first goals of the season because he was generating chances both five-on-five and on the power play.
“I think we’ve had some good looks on the power play,” Nelson said. “I’d like to get a couple and have a different conversation. You see one go in, all of a sudden you start to feel a bit better. You’ve got to just keep on it, keep shooting. You can’t really change anything.”
Last season, Nelson had just two goals in October. But he then notched five in his first two games of November and went on to score a career-high 37.
His best Brocktober performances were six goals in both 2014-15 and 2018-19, five in 2017-18 and four in 2019-20.
So, while three goals this Brocktober aren’t at the top of his list, he and the team are entering November with momentum.
“You want to bury [the chances] and feel good,” Nelson said. “I thought our lineup was doing some good things over the course of the season so far and maybe didn’t get rewarded as much as we would have liked.”