Well folks we have a series. The first round matchup between the Islanders and Capitals reaches a cross roads tonight as this “coin flip… of a series reaches a pivotal Game 5. We are really starting to see the pressure, intensity and angst between the clubs build. As the teams return to the Verizon Center for tonight’s tilt, both squads left Long Island scoring 3 goals each in two games.
If the Islanders are going to advance in this series they need to find their offense and fast. Defensively, New York has been solid in this series with the exception of the third period of Game Two. Jaroslav Halak will be between the pipes again and he has been solid in goal. The Capital goals have been simple plays with traffic in front of the net impeding Halak’s vision. This is exactly what the Isles need to do. While Capitals goalie Braden Holtby has been outstanding in Games Three and Four, the Isles need to make life more difficult for him.
Holtby is seeing too much in front of him. There needs to be more traffic in front of the goal and there needs to be more shots from the point. The reason the Isles lost Game Four was their unwillingness to shoot the puck on the power play. I simply don’t understand the players’ stubbornness on the man advantage. We are past cute at this time of the year and they simply need to get more pucks to the net and get in those dirty and greasy areas in front. You have to pay a price to get dirty goals, the Isles need to ante up and get in those areas.
The lineup will for tonight is still in question. We do know that Lubomir Visnovsky will be out indefinitely after being injured by the league approved hit from Capitals forward Tom Wilson. It is expected that rookie Griffin Reinhart will take his place. Up front Mikhail Grabovski will return to the lineup and it appears that Brock Nelson will sit. We all love Nelson but besides Game One he has been mostly invisible. The same can be said for Anders Lee and Frans Nielsen and if this team is going to advance they desperately need something from their middle six forwards. While lines have not been announced yet here is what I would do if I was making the roster for tonight’s game.
Anders Lee- John Tavares- Ryan Strome Kyle Okposo- Frans Nielsen- Josh Bailey Nikolay Kulemin- Mikhail Grabovski- Tyler Kennedy Matt Martin- Casey Cizikas- Cal Clutterbuck
The third line has to be effective. Nelson and Lee were simply not working there. You can’t be bottom line wingers and not finish your checks or forecheck aggressively. I think Lee will open up some space for the skilled forwards on the top line and we all know the success that this trio has shared during the regular season.
The effort of the second line has been their but now they need to cash in on their chances. The Isles need goals and the second line has to net one tonight. We all know that Frans Nielsen is banged up but we simply need more from him.
I think the third line will be a pain to play against and defensively sound in their own end. With this being Grabovski’s first game in weeks, pairing him with Kulemin just makes sense to me. Finally we do not touch the fourth line as it has been the Islanders most consistent line of the Series. While that is all well and good, if New York is advancing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they need their other three lines to cash in on their chances.
We all know the chatter amongst the teams after Lubomir Visnovsky’s injury. There is some serious anger and disdain building between the two teams but tonight is not the night for the Isles to worry about revenge. How do you get back at the Caps? By beating them on the scoreboard. There is a time and a place for retribution and that can happen next year when the stakes aren’t so high. Win the game and let the other pieces fall where they may.
If the Isles are going to get out of this series, the offense has to produce. They simply cannot expect to win every game with only one or two tallies. It is up to New York’s stars to shine bright. Your best players need to be your best players or they will be playing golf before the end of the weekend and we are all not ready for that. As always for more on all things hockey please follow me on twitter at @DanDanNoodles78.