The Islanders return to Coliseum ice tonight to take on the Florida Panthers. Florida is coming off a 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Rangers last night and the Islanders are hoping to rebound after dropping their past two games against the Red Wings and Bruins. The Panthers have plenty of talent to win games and the Islanders must clean up their game if they hope to secure two points tonight.
Jaroslav Halak will return between the pipes tonight and while Chad Johnson didn’t lose the game against Detroit, it is clear to the naked eye that this team plays better with Halak behind them. I am all for patience but Johnson must show that he is a capable NHL goalie. He was good in spurts on Saturday but the third period he was flopping like a fish out of water. I truly believe that the Islanders will be in the market for a backup goalie come trade deadline.
As for the rest of the lineup, it is still up in the air for tonight. Casey Cizikas will be a game time decision as he is still banged up but played hurt against the Red Wings. If he cannot go then Colin McDonald will play on the third line with Brock Nelson and Michael Grabner. Ryan Strome will drop down to the fourth line and play between Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck. Strome will still see significant power play time and I would not be concerned about his minutes played.
Anders Lee has been moved up to the top line and will play with Josh Bailey and John Tavares. This is a great shot for Anders Lee. Lee’s size and willingness to get his nose dirty may create space for Tavares and Bailey. Anders Lee just needs to play a simple game, go hard into the corner and win battles then get his wide frame to the net and just stay there. Finally Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski will join Frans Nielsen to form the second line. This line really needs to provide some much needed scoring while Kyle Okposo recovers from his injury.
As for the defense tonight that will also be a game time decision as Islanders Head Coach Jack Capuano stated that there may be some changes due to some minor injuries amongst the blueliners. I have a feeling that it could be Johnny Boychuk as he took a couple of knocks against the Red Wings and fell awkwardly into the boards.
Regardless of who is in the lineup, the Islanders need to play a simple game of puck possession where they can let their forecheck go to work. They also need to work on the powerplay as it is just too cute for my liking. They need to simply get traffic and pucks on net and the rest should take care of itself. As always for more on all things hockey please follow me on twitter at @DanDanNoodles78.
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