When Travis Harmonic tried to clear the defensive zone and glanced the puck off the glass, neither he, the fans nor the Islanders’ coaching staff would have guessed they would have been called for a penalty. Especially in overtime.
One would figure that when the linesman positioned under the play in question signaled for a face-off, that there would not be a gathering of officials to confer and rule that the puck never touched the glass, and therefore assessed a penalty. Especially in overtime. Bad call aside, the Islanders need to get rid of the monkey on their back in a big way.
The resulting man down 4 on 3 situation ended in San Jose scoring the winning goal. Despite playing well in a tight physical game with a top team in the NHL, the Islanders lost, again. They have fallen to a 3-4-2 record, enough for last place in the Atlantic division and 14th in the conference. With a great special-teams performance thus far and a defense that has performed well, the Islanders are still in a familiar rut. With three goaltenders who have all played well enough to win, they have still fallen after a quick start which had them near the top of the pack in many statistical categories.
But right now, despite all these things and playing hard, they are falling into another consecutive winless streak reminiscent of the one that lasted 14 games last season. The roster has evolved into one of the better up and coming teams of young talent any GM would be proud to have. It has been infused with quality veterans, some who have won the ultimate prize more than once. The team is led by a coaching staff that has gotten results from its group of players on a pretty consistent basis.
So what could it be? The old 5 on 5 adage still applies. They need scoring from more than just the top line. It is obvious that the rest of the forwards on the ice need to step up and take accountability for the losing streak. It’s hard to call out the defense when they have been so good in limiting the opponents offensive output, but maybe they could work with the goaltenders to improve offensive breakouts from their own zone. Turning defensive success into more offense could do wonders for the Isles with their speed and ability to score goals. Last year, the Islanders had 5 twenty goal scorers with a balanced attack.
This year, only Tavares, Moulson, Nielsen and Grabner have more than 1 goal. Streit, Parenteau, MacDonald and Martin have scored 1 goal. Aside from the first line, only Streit has more than a few assists at 7. Other contributors top off at 3 (Okposo) and 2 (Rolston), then 5 others at 1 assist. These totals were gathered in the 9 games played by the Islanders to date.
Changing the 2nd-4th lines could be done, up to a point. With Neiderreiter in the line-up, the offense may improve, but that is a lot to ask of such a young prospect. Strome is still a ways off from regular minutes on the Island. I still think the answer is in the form of a trade or waiver pick-up for a prime offensive talent to give the offense a dual-fisted attack. Teams in need of salary relief may be ready to move assets for cap room. It would force opponents to not just overload the coverage on the Tavares line and force them to respect more of the line-up. In turn, I think the rest of the forwards would have more of an opportunity to break out and catch fire offensively.
I think Garth Snow has shown he has a good eye for players in need of a scenery change or more attractive opportunity to showcase their talents in New York. If the team is ready to give up on him, a Josh Bailey could be packaged with some of the many impressive minor league prospects and may bring in a good player to add to the depth of the Islanders roster. If the right player is available, it may be worth giving up some of the young Sound Tigers.
What's the next move?
The New York Islanders have sent forwards Trevor Gillies and Nino Niederreiter to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League (AHL). Gillies, who has cleared waivers for the second time this season, is most likely being sent down to make an eventual roster spot for Niederreiter, who has been rehabbing a groin injury for conditioning. Niederreiter will remain in Bridgeport for a maximum of two weeks. Despite being reassigned, both Gillies and Niederreiter practiced with the Islanders today.
Lines at practice today were Moulson-Tavares-Parenteau; Grabner-Nielsen-Okposo; Comeau-Bailey-Rolston, Niederreiter; Pandolfo-Reasoner-Martin,Gillies.
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