Wow so I guess we shouldn't make a move and keep him there for the playoffs right? He's been fine as a fill in but in no world should he be the first line winger and you know that as well
- Upstate_isles

If you take that five goal eruption from Barzy and Ebs against the Caps, their offensive production has been crapola since Leo joined that line. But the spin here is, they're not giving up goals. Holding serve is what you want from your 3rd or 4th lines, not your top scoring line. Then the, 'Leo being out there allows Barzy to be Barzy'....sure and when the playoffs begin and teams clamp down and focus on Barzy it's all on Eberle, because Leo is still trying to figure out the controller.

I think the question is, has it worked BECAUSE of him, or IN SPITE of him?

Cause from what I’ve seen, I’d argue the latter. Komarov certainly has had his moments, but he’s also botched a fair few plays.

Personally, I’d much rather have a different LW on that line.
- Wildschwein

I think Barry’s quotes answer the question. My point is if you are a daily or frequent reader on this board especially since Lou signed Leo and traded for MM, all you read was how horrific it was. Game in game out. Despite this the Islanders have only improved every year.
Is Leo Lee, of course not. But he does what’s expected of him. He does his job.

This!!
- Vukota

Hes pretty much an abject disaster with the puck

If you take that five goal eruption from Barzy and Ebs against the Caps, their offensive production has been crapola since Leo joined that line. But the spin here is, they're not giving up goals. Holding serve is what you want from your 3rd or 4th lines, not your top scoring line. Then the, 'Leo being out there allows Barzy to be Barzy'....sure and when the playoffs begin and teams clamp down and focus on Barzy it's all on Eberle, because Leo is still trying to figure out the controller.
- keaner17

They won't be in the playoffs for long if Leo is still on the 1st line

If you take that five goal eruption from Barzy and Ebs against the Caps, their offensive production has been crapola since Leo joined that line. But the spin here is, they're not giving up goals. Holding serve is what you want from your 3rd or 4th lines, not your top scoring line. Then the, 'Leo being out there allows Barzy to be Barzy'....sure and when the playoffs begin and teams clamp down and focus on Barzy it's all on Eberle, because Leo is still trying to figure out the controller.
- keaner17

Correct and in the game barzal had 5 point and eberle 3 uncle Leo had 1 point

I think Barry’s quotes answer the question. My point is if you are a daily or frequent reader on this board especially since Lou signed Leo and traded for MM, all you read was how horrific it was. Game in game out. Despite this the Islanders have only improved every year.
Is Leo Lee, of course not. But he does what’s expected of him. He does his job.
- nyisles7

Certainly. There’s no doubt that he’s given his all game after game. I’ve no issue with Komarov’s effort whatsoever.

I think Barry’s quotes answer the question. My point is if you are a daily or frequent reader on this board especially since Lou signed Leo and traded for MM, all you read was how horrific it was. Game in game out. Despite this the Islanders have only improved every year.
Is Leo Lee, of course not. But he does what’s expected of him. He does his job.
- nyisles7

You know 7 still wears that green bandana
- Vukota

Hes pretty much an abject disaster with the puck
- Upstate_isles

He was fantastic in the 3rd last night but experiment's like these usually have a shelf life of a couple of games before reality sets in I'd rather see Leo on the 3rd line instead of Bellows but I'm hoping Lou brings in 2 guys to push Bellows and Leo out of the liineup

100%
- nyisles7

They won't be in the playoffs for long if Leo is still on the 1st line
- Vukota

THIS(!) is my concern.

He’s a stop gap solution at best. Not THE solution.

If you take that five goal eruption from Barzy and Ebs against the Caps, their offensive production has been crapola since Leo joined that line. But the spin here is, they're not giving up goals. Holding serve is what you want from your 3rd or 4th lines, not your top scoring line. Then the, 'Leo being out there allows Barzy to be Barzy'....sure and when the playoffs begin and teams clamp down and focus on Barzy it's all on Eberle, because Leo is still trying to figure out the controller.
- keaner17

So your top line can give up 5 goals and score 5 that’s their job.
Afraid not, every line is responsible to not give up goals. That’s why Bellows was yanked off the line.
I think the point is as a fill in Leo has done better and has given the line a bit of stability where Bellows didn’t. Most fans had a melt down when it was done but it has worked. Numbers don’t lie.
I expect a deal will be done if not by next game by Friday so we won’t have to debate this on here anymore.

Did you read it? Pretty enlightening.

Zero.

That number represents something kind of surprising about the top-line Leo Komarov experiment that reached eight games in Tuesday’s 1-0 win over the Capitals at the Coliseum.

That’s the number of even-strength goals the Islanders have allowed while the Komarov-Mathew Barzal–Jordan Eberle line has been on the ice over those eight games. The true impact of a No. 1 line isn’t how many goals it gives up, of course, but how many it produces — seven, in case you were wondering. But in this case, Komarov’s impact is not purely seen through his work in the offensive zone, which can sometimes look like a 5-year-old just grabbed an Xbox controller for the first time.

When Barry Trotz replaced Kieffer Bellows with Komarov on Barzal’s left four games into life after Anders Lee’s knee injury, he wasn’t looking to light a fire under Barzal. He wanted some stability and predictability, which Komarov always brings; Uncle Leo is and always will be Uncle Leo, inside the room and on the ice.

The idea, it seemed, was to give Barzal an ungainly but reliable winger and let him go do his thing. Lee brought that too, but with incredible skill around the net. Komarov’s predictability has, perhaps, allowed Barzal to play a bit more freely, as evidenced by his hat trick on Thursday that earned him the NHL’s first star last week.

“For the people that aren’t in the game, they think this is fantasy league sometimes. You go, ‘Hey, I’m just going to put my highest scorers together,'” Trotz said. “But you look around the league. Give you an example: You’ve got Toronto — there’s (Mitch) Marner and there’s (Auston) Matthews. Who do they put out with them a lot of the time? Zach Hyman, a guy who does a lot of the heavy lifting. Gives them some weight. There’s certain players that need those type of players. I think Barzy and Ebs need those type of players on their line. That’s why Leesy is so good there, why Leo’s done a good job, why Matt Martin can go in there. If you’re too light of a line, you’re easy to play against.”

Lest you think Barzal isn’t on board with this plan, he echoed Trotz’s positivity about first-line Leo as well as the MMPP (Matt Martin power play) — Martin has figured in the last two Isles power-play goals since being moved to Lee’s spot on Barzal’s power-play group, a mid-air deflection of a Barzal pass and a no-look feed for Anthony Beauvillier from the net-front spot.

“It’s a chance for people to really see how effective Leo and Marty can be,” Barzal said. “Anders Lee, he’s got a certain pedigree, and those guys are known for different things. Leo and Marty work extremely hard. In a game that’s shifting from maybe the grinding, hitting style to more speed, they find ways to slow the game down, and for me, that’s kind of nice. They’re still super effective; those guys do a really good job playing their roles, slowing plays down for me and Ebs.”

Digging into some of the public data also shows that Barzal hasn’t been hampered by Komarov. Along with the zero actual goals allowed at even strength, the Barzal-Komarov duo has an expected-goals percentage of 67.8 (courtesy of Natural Stat Trick) compared with 59.6 percent with Lee, though obviously with a much smaller sample size (87:33 of ice time with Komarov to 348:52 with Lee). Barzal’s xGF numbers are superb with just about every Islander this year, a testament to how strong a season he’s had — he doesn’t have the gaudy numbers that Marner, Matthews and Connor McDavid do, but maybe Barzal sneaks in a Hart Trophy vote this year? It’s not that crazy a thought for a possible division winner.

But that reliability with Komarov has clearly helped. It’s a big reason the four-game experiment with Bellows didn’t last. Barzal is a tricky player to get chemistry with, and Komarov does a bit more of what Lee does. Same with Martin on the power play.

Now, this could all be moot by the time you read this story. Taylor Hall was a healthy scratch on Tuesday for the Sabres; Kyle Palmieri now has been scratched twice by the Devils. Either one could be an Islander at any time, and that would almost certainly shuffle Komarov out of LW1 in favor of a player with more skill.

These eight games could at least provide a template for Trotz should a new addition not work with Barzal.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Trotz said. “You hear all the rumors, and guys are just trying to get a piece of the pie. The trade deadline can be disruptive at times because you do add or you don’t. We’ve got team guys, so if we get someone, guys will be happy, even though someone’s going to lose ice time. If we don’t get someone, you want to have the coach’s trust. That’s the biggest thing.”
- nyisles7

This doesn’t change the fact that Komarov sucks and doesn’t belong on the first line.

THIS(!) is my concern.

He’s a stop gap solution at best. Not THE solution.
- Wildschwein

100%, expect a trade by the end of the week if not sooner. I just hope we get Palmieri because he does play both sides of the puck.

So your top line can give up 5 goals and score 5 that’s there job.
Afraid not, every line is responsible to not give up goals. That’s why Bellows was yanked off the line.
I think the point is as a fill in Leo has done better and has given the line a bit of stability where Bellows didn’t. Most fans had a melt down when it was done but it has worked. Numbers don’t lie.
I expect a deal will be done if not by next game by Friday so we won’t have to debate this on here anymore.
- nyisles7

Good cause you're wrong

leo has been surprisingly serviceable, although dreadful in the o-zone and with the puck...this is a team with the cup in mind and that spot in an obvious need to upgrade.

leo has been surprisingly serviceable, although dreadful in the o-zone and with the puck...this is a team with the cup in mind and that spot in an obvious need to upgrade.
- slapshot018

I 100% expect them to get someone for that spot on the top line not sure they do much beyond that

If you take that five goal eruption from Barzy and Ebs against the Caps, their offensive production has been crapola since Leo joined that line. But the spin here is, they're not giving up goals. Holding serve is what you want from your 3rd or 4th lines, not your top scoring line. Then the, 'Leo being out there allows Barzy to be Barzy'....sure and when the playoffs begin and teams clamp down and focus on Barzy it's all on Eberle, because Leo is still trying to figure out the controller.
- keaner17

Komarov being some defensive stalwart is just as ridiculously stupid as saying the same about Bailey. It’s just not true. The guy makes some decent defensive plays like most hockey players and some really terrible ones at in opportune times as well. He’s terrible I think it’s hysterical that anyone would debate this. I mean wtf were we thinking? We should have had him on the first line all along!!!!

This doesn’t change the fact that Komarov sucks and doesn’t belong on the first line.
- Cptmjl

This may be true, however he’s done a better job than others and the team has continued to play as a team and really not miss a beat with a pretty big cog of the wheel hurt.
Pretty impressive how they have not hung their heads and just continued to believe in each other and play The Islanders brand of hockey we have come to love.

Good cause you're wrong
- Upstate_isles

Of course I wouldn’t know a puck if it hit me in the forehead
That said I think most on here were hit in the head by something.

100%, expect a trade by the end of the week if not sooner. I just hope we get Palmieri because he does play both sides of the puck.
- nyisles7

Palmieri would be a good start.

Hypothetically speaking, would it make more sense to trade for a C and move Nelson back to LW?

Beauvillier-Barzal-Eberle
Nelson-?-Bailey
Komarov/Bellows-Pageau-Wahlstrom
Perfection Line

So your top line can give up 5 goals and score 5 that’s there job.
Afraid not, every line is responsible to not give up goals. That’s why Bellows was yanked off the line.
I think the point is as a fill in Leo has done better and has given the line a bit of stability where Bellows didn’t. Most fans had a melt down when it was done but it has worked. Numbers don’t lie.
I expect a deal will be done if not by next game by Friday so we won’t have to debate this on here anymore.
- nyisles7

No one is going to proclaim a SCORING LINE a success because their entire night was uneventful. I would hardly say a top line has been a success when they have no goals for or against over a stretch. Had that 5 goal night not happened, there's no way Stape could have run that article. Then there's the eye test, which we all roundly agree, Leo tends to be a momentum killer. Last night I thought he had his up's and downs but made a few nice plays. Overall he's been a drag on that line, a line whose primary role is to score

This may be true, however he’s done a better job than others and the team has continued to play as a team and really not miss a beat with a pretty big cog of the wheel hurt.
Pretty impressive how they have not hung their heads and just continued to believe in each other and play The Islanders brand of hockey we have come to love.
- nyisles7

This is extremely debatable. That line has been invisible or visible in a bad way since he has been on it save for last nights game and the last game vs the caps. That’s it. If your barometer is two games out of ten then maybe you and whoever wrote that stupid article should set the bar a bit higher. They’re 6-4 in that time period btw.

I 100% expect them to get someone for that spot on the top line not sure they do much beyond that
- Upstate_isles

agreed - but if they are able to land palmeiri i could see them grabbing a depth piece for the third line as well. i personally want hall because i think he will rebound, but think the team might be better with palmeiri plus a depth piece. hall comes with a risk but the upside is tempting.

Oh course I wouldn’t know a puck if it hit me in the forehead
That said I think most on here were hit in the head by something.
- nyisles7

Care to take this battle to twitter