Last night, the Islanders had their five game win streak snapped at the hands of the Washington Capitals, losing by a score of 5-2. More important than the loss, was the injuries to the Islanders’ blueline. The Islanders entered the game without Johnny Boychuk, who is out with an upper-body injury. During the game, the Islanders lost Lubomir Visnovsky to an upper-body injury and Travis Hamonic was injured blocking a shot. Hamonic will be able to play, tonight, against the Devils, but Visnovsky and Boychuk will be out. Therefore, Brian Strait remains in the lineup and Matt Donovan will see action in his second game of the season.
I don’t want to dwell too much on the loss last night as the team was completely out of sync. Last night was one of those games where they simply could not get out of their own way and after eleven wins in the Isles last twelve games, law of averages said they had to lose again eventually. One of the few players underperforming has to be Chad Johnson as he continues to struggle in his limited action. I’m not going to hang every goal on him, last night, but Johnson fought the puck the entire night and he simply does not look comfortable between the pipes. In eight starts in the season, Johnson’s numbers are not impressive as he boasts a 3.42 goals against average and a horrid .870 save percentage. I’m not ready to make a change, but if there isn’t any improvement in Johnson’s upcoming starts, the team may need to reevaluate the backup goaltending position.
As for the game tonight against New Jersey, Jaroslav Halak will be between the pipes. The forward lines will remain the same and I am still looking for the first line to have a dominant game. I’m aware that Okposo and Tavares are still racking up points, but when was the last time this line took over a game? It hasn’t happened in a while. The depth that this team now has up and down the lineup is providing more than enough support for the top line, but if this team is going to make some noise this season, the Islanders need the first line to play some dominant hockey at even strength.
This will be the Islanders first matchup with the Devils this season, who enter the game 3-5-2 in their last ten games. The Devils record doesn’t mean anything when they play the Islanders in recent years, as they always seem to frustrate the offense of the Isles. The Islanders really need to establish their game early tonight and dictate play. Scoring first would also go a long way into ensuring two points this evening. As always, for more on all things hockey, please follow me on twitter at @DanDanNoodles78.