Full Strength
Isles look strong with healthy roster
Is anyone really surprised the Islanders took a few steps back after taking a few forward? It's been that kind of season as Isles have drifted towards the bottom of the Metropolitan Division. They'll finally get to play some games with their healthiest lineup since October. Will it make a difference? Sean & Stefen welcome Dan Rosen of nhl.com to talk it all over!
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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Were we too hard on the Islanders last week? The loss to Chicago, followed by being shut out by the Carolina Hurricanes, got under my orange and blue skin. Three straight off days allowed everyone from the coach to the GM to the players to take turns having blame pointed in their direction.
I mean, it’s hard to argue that it wasn’t warranted. Blown leads, horrid special teams, lackluster effort, defensive breakdowns, lousy judgment. We could go on.
It didn’t happen earlier because, although it’s never been an official excuse, the Islanders hadn’t been at full strength since the fifth game of the season until Saturday night. The result was one of their better games of the season in a 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
With Anthony Duclair back after missing 28 games, head coach Patrick Roy split up his top line of Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat, and Duclair to create more balance throughout the forward group. The result was a rare night when all four lines (yes. even the fourth line) were rolling and contributing, with seven forwards and four defensemen getting on the scoresheet.
The special teams didn’t hurt them because it was a game without special teams. There was no time spent on the penalty kill or power play. It's the first time they’ve played a game without a penalty from either side since 2015. That won’t happen again; they’ll need to figure out their special teams, or everything else will not matter. The team is talking about keeping it simple and raising their competitive level. Sure, why not? It can’t get any worse.
