The Islanders are in the Mile High City tonight, as they start their epic five game western road trip in Denver against the Avalanche. When the puck drops at 9pm, Chad Johnson will be in between the pipes for the Islanders. The lineup itself will be the same as it was Tuesday night. While the Islanders were not good against the Jets, Tuesday, Jaroslav Halak was severely off his game letting in many stoppable shots. If the Islanders are going to make the playoffs this season, both goalies need to be playing well and through nine games the goaltending has been spotty at times

With that being said, the defensive structure of this team is still off. There is too much space between the forwards and the dmen and the offensive and neutral zone turnovers are killing this team. The frustrating thing for me to watch is a seemingly inability or unwillingness to make changes in game by the Islanders’ coaching staff.

The mantra after a loss is always, “We didn’t play our game tonight.” There are plenty of nights when “your game” doesn’t work. Good teams are able to make adjustments on-the-fly and overcome an off night. I have played golf at a high level for many years and there are some days, despite my best effort, my driver is going left or I’m pulling my putts. I am able to make changes on the fly. That’s all I’m asking this staff to do. To be blunt, the first line on this team is not generating enough at even strength, yet Islanders’ Head Coach, Jack Capuano, refuses to “leave the driver in the bag.”

Even more maddening is this love affair with the fourth line. If the line was playing well and making it really difficult to play against, I’m all for the expanded ice time. This is not the case. The fourth line continues to get hemmed in their zone on a nightly basis. Why must they be on the ice, trailing late in the third? Why are they on the ice for an offensive zone face-off? Why are we waiting till after the game to talk about changes when it is possible to make them in-game?

Jack Capuano talked about player’s ice time being reduced if their games don’t step up. Why are we waiting until after the game to come to that conclusion? This is something that can be managed in game. I’m not calling for the Islanders to remove Jack Capuano. The Islanders are 6-3 in the season but despite that solid record, there are concerns with this team that might get exposed over the next twelve days.

I don’t want massive wholesale changes but if something isn’t working, a few tweaks here and there are fine. I’d start with a new winger for the top line. I’d like to see what Mikhail Grabovski would look like with John Tavares and Kyle Okposo. If that doesn’t work, why not give Anders Lee or even Ryan Strome a look with the big boys. This team is loaded with potential. For years, Jack Capuano had a beat-up pickup truck to steer. This season, Garth Snow gave him a brand new sedan. If this team is underperforming, we have to look behind the bench. This is not an AHL roster anymore and we have to see the Islanders take the next step forward and make the playoffs this season. As always, for more on all things hockey, please follow me on twitter at @DanDanNoodles78.

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