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Silence the cannon

February 25, 2017, 12:02 PM ET [521 Comments]
Noel Fogelman
New York Islanders Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Follow me on Twitter @thefirstnoel19

The New York Islanders look to end the first leg of their franchise-record long nine-game road trip on a high note as they face the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. The Islanders have won the first two games on this trip rather convincingly, defeating the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens respectfully and have a three-game winning streak overall.

The Blue Jackets are coming off their five-day bye week. Teams following that break are 4-12-4. That bodes well for the Islanders, who know all too well about struggling post bye week, as two of those four overtime losses are from the Isles.

Nationwide Arena is definitely not on the Islanders side as they are 5-8-1-2 all-time. Although three of the five wins came last season. The cannon got a workout last game as thy allowed six goals, four of which game in the third period in a 6-2 loss.

Thomas Greiss will be in net. Greiss has looked sharp since allowing six goals to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Valentine's Day. He is 3-1-0 with a 1.51 goals against average, .939 save percentage and a shutout. The skaters will remain the same.

This will be the Isles last game before the March 1 trade deadline. Will this be the same team at 3:01 pm Wednesday is anyone's guest. General manager Garth Snow has to decide if he wants to part with some of his prized prospects to acquire Matt Duchene. Colorado's asking price is high since they do not have to trade either Duchene or captain Gabriel Landeskog by Wednesday. I really do not see a scenario where Ryan Pulock or Mathew Barzal are not included in a deal.

Untouchable is a word that gets thrown around a lot. If Wayne Gretzky can get traded in his prime than no player is untouchable. I would rather keep both of those players and hope that Duchene is still available at the draft.

One player who I thought would be a good fit for the Islanders was Patrick Eaves, who was acquired by the Anaheim Ducks for a conditional second-round pick. The price for a rental has been set.
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