The New York Islanders return to the ice tonight as they take on the Minnesota Wild. The Islanders’ will see some familiar faces in the Wild’s lineup as this marks the first time former Islander Matt Moulson and former prospect Nino Niederreiter take on the team at the Coliseum. Much has been made over both players departure but tonight will be their first time back on the island.
You can find stories on these two players anywhere, I would like to focus on the current Islanders’ roster. Rookie defenseman Kevin Czuczman will make his NHL debut and will be paired up with Travis Hamonic. It will interesting to see if Czuczman remains with Hamonic the entire game and it is also noteworthy to see how Czuczman reacts to the nerves of his pro debut. As a result Matt Carkner will be scratched tonight. Speaking on the Isles blue line; I would like to see the combination of Matt Donovan and Calvin deHaan pairing again at some point this season. I thought Donovan played some of his best hockey when he was paired up with deHaan who appears to have to ability to make people around him better.
Up front the Islanders forwards should remain the same with Michael Grabner still out with a concussion. The recent play of Lee, Nelson and Strome makes this team watchable right now and with Okposo and Nielsen playing well the offense is still formidable despite losing John Tavares. The next few weeks will help define what this team might develop into. Could Lee Strome and Nelson all be top six forwards moving forward? If that answer is yes the offense is going to be dynamic next season with the return of John Tavares. Regardless of who plays where, it appears as the Islanders may actually have some depth up front and guys like Colin McDonald, Josh Bailey and even Matt Martin might get pushed out of the way by some of these kids. In theory; this offseason is going to be very interesting on Long Island. This is assuming the management is allowed to spend some money. This is a subject that we will get into all summer but the kids’ performances now give us a small look into how this team is defined moving forward. Finally in goal tonight will be rookie Anders Nilsson as he will make his second consecutive start. The final month will be an important one to see who will still be in the goaltending picture next season. I believe that the Islanders must sign or trade for an established goalie in the offseason. If Evgeni Nabokov wants to be the backup next season I would be ok with that. Finally I would like to see Anders Nilsson play 60 games in the AHL and be left alone for the year.
We are in the evaluation portion of the season. These final few weeks will define players’ future with the team and perhaps future roles for next season. It’s an open casting call right now and if someone stands out they should be rewarded moving forward. One can only look to tonight to see how auditions progress.
Finally I need the help and support of the Hockey Buzz family. I had mentioned before that I would be running and online auction. Well this hockey only auction is up and running. I am raising money to help my friend Lisa Berlinski who will be running in the 2014 Boston Marathon in support of the Boston Bruins Foundation. There are auction items from such hockey legends as Mike Bossy, Martin Brodeur, Guy Lefleur and much more. Please follow this link below to bid on some amazing hockey prizes or make a donation to this great cause. I appreciate the support of the hockey community and I really need your help for this great cause.
http://www.32auctions.com/berlinski