Islanders Buzz : Isles Outwork, but Lose to Tampa...Lehner's Got To Be Better

bob is available for the right price

bob is available for the right price
- redsfanhere

Komarov and Clutterbuck

I agreed with going with Lehner. He was playing lights out prior to straining his back. Greiss was awesome but looked a little more leaky in the last game and it was a good time to get Lehner in. Having said that the first goal given up appeared to be weak. Not sure if he was screened or just not in position but it appeared to be a savable shot.

Although neither team scored on the power play, the Isles had a 5 on 3 for more than 40 seconds and although they did get a couple of shots none seemed very challenging. I think they need to shoot more. Their shot% has been pretty high but that won't last. With a man advantage they need to put the puck on net.

As far as the final goal, that was a team breakdown. You could argue Pulock should have done better getting the puck out. It was a weak clearing attempt. However he was chasing down a faceoff win with pressure on him. Neither the winger nor center were anywhere near him to support him. If the winger came down from the blue line to half boards there at least would have been pressure on Kucherov. And if Nelson was in the slot a cross ice pass wouldn't have happened. And NO ONE was covering Kucherov for the return pass tap in. With 1min left the Isles priority needs to be puck control and get it out of zone. it seemed like they wanted to rush up the ice from behind their goal line and were all exiting the zone before the puck was even touched. That mistake cost them a point and maybe 2. Hopefully they learn their lesson.

On a larger note though, although it sucks they gave away points, they have played the best teams in the NHL well. On 2 goals against until final 1:30 of game. They are becoming a tough team to play against and if they can keep this up and limit those breakdowns, they will be fine.

"Lehner's got to be better."

Excuse me? The only reason the Islanders are in first place in the Metro is the goaltending. There's literally no way Lehner can be better than he's been (with Gresiss, of course).

Agree with a team like TBay they should of stuck with Griess. But what lost them this game was the forwards blew the D zone for that winning goal. That was the type of play they did consistently last year.
Liked the move of Barzel with Lee and Bailey. Trotz is in tuff building a second line while having three forth lines will do that. Still early and a road weary sceduale to now, time will tell how this island slides.

Yes, the goaltending has been solid but the defense has way outplayed last year's d. They've also stayed in shape or has anyone seem Sbisa?

Solid play and Bailey's early goal was the great energizer. Overall their game is very honest or they getting the record they have based on solid play, not wild offense that go to OT's and SO's which is how they played last year. I still like the vet signings and the overall organizational depth with the team in BRI now in the AHL PO mix.

Islanders Buzz : Isles Outwork, but Lose to Tampa...Lehner's Got To Be Better
- Eklund

Lehner has actually been excellent. Greiss is far from being the clear cut or even close to starting goaltender. Disagree with Trotz being wrong in starting Lehner. Tough loss especially due to a bone headed play with under two mins left. On to the next game...

I agree with the Coach going with Lehner as well. He has been great in the games he's played so far. He hasn't seen game action since tweaking his back and he needed to get some soon before getting stale which by his play last night I think already showed.
I agree they outplayed the Bolts and probably deserved 1 if not 2 points. As you pointed out though The Bolts are an elite team and they only need you to make 1 mistake and the pucks in the back of your net. I think the staff and the Isles are on the right track and a lot has changed in a short period of time and if the team continues to buy in and play the way they played last night they will be ok and a lot better than most thought.

Thanks for the Blog Ek.

Lehner has actually been excellent. Greiss is far from being the clear cut or even close to starting goaltender. Disagree with Trotz being wrong in starting Lehner. Tough loss especially due to a bone headed play with under two mins left. On to the next game...
- Cptmjl

I know he has been very good. I am just not a fan. And Greiss has really been lights out. GAA under 2?!

I know he has been very good. I am just not a fan. And Greiss has really been lights out. GAA under 2?!
- Eklund

The problem is Greiss has not handled a big workload well in the past. Maybe with excellent coaching and a much better system things will be different. Last night came down to the 5 on 3 and the forwards leaving the zone early on the winning goal. Isles still looking good so far.

Komarov and Clutterbuck
- eichiefs9

You wanna deprive the roster of all that truculence for a disgruntled Vezina
calibre Russkie?

Communist.

Komarov and Clutterbuck
- eichiefs9

Man I dislike watching Clutterbuck so much at this point he’s getting close to Ladd territory😂

I know he has been very good. I am just not a fan. And Greiss has really been lights out. GAA under 2?!
- Eklund

Greiss seems to be to the extremes both when he’s good and bad. Hopefully he continues his good play recently but to me Lehner is more consistently reliable albeit with a small sample size.

i'm going to go with this game was on pulock.... at least 1 pt was lost from that weak attempt to get the puck up the boards.

Islanders looked like the better team for much of the game. It's not untrue to say that their effort was deserving of at least one point.

The difference was Tampa's depth and having a couple of elite game-breakers. You cannot let your foot off the pedal for a single second with guys like Kucherov and Stamkos skating around.

You guys had me worried for a while there.

I know he has been very good. I am just not a fan. And Greiss has really been lights out. GAA under 2?!
- Eklund

You can not be a fan, but you still need to look at it objectively. Yes, statistically Greiss has been better. However, when he goes south, he goes south hard. He starts to let up a lot of soft goals when he carries too big of a work load. Lehner has put in the work and it's shown. He got hung out to dry on that 3rd goal last night. There was nothing he could do since everyone had already cleared the zone.
By the way, thanks for throwing out some blogs for us to read. Much better content than what's-his-nut. Much better. And without the passive aggressive insults to us.

Islanders looked like the better team for much of the game. It's not untrue to say that their effort was deserving of at least one point.

The difference was Tampa's depth and having a couple of elite game-breakers. You cannot let your foot off the pedal for a single second with guys like Kucherov and Stamkos skating around.

You guys had me worried for a while there.
- GalacticStone

While true, it was the one big mistake by the Isles that gave you the game. Can't make a mistake against TB or they'll make you pay. And they did.

Pulock needed to slow down and look to go weak side with the puck, he rushed to move it and put it where the breakdown was possible, not excusing forwards, but it starts with the initial puck movement.

While true, it was the one big mistake by the Isles that gave you the game. Can't make a mistake against TB or they'll make you pay. And they did.
- Isleshockeyman

Yeah, a mistake in the last two minutes of play is the absolute worst time to phuck up a pass or clear from your own zone (against any team).

Completely disagree.

The Islanders played hockey for 38:30 last night vs. Tampa. The other 21:30 — they were anything but on the ice playing NHL Hockey.

The entire second period, all 20 NY Islander skaters stayed in their locker room. Maybe they were doubled over with cramps. They looked like they drank too much water and cramped up — seriously! Unacceptable!!

Then — battling back with a strong third period… Except they thought the game ended officially at the 18:30 mark of the period and skated off the ice!

It's a 60 minute game. The Islanders need to be reminded of that.

You're better off adjusting your expectations of Lehner

You're better off adjusting your expectations of Lehner
- jcragcrumple

None of us have/had any expectations of Lehner he has been good so far. Some games he has been excellent. So far so good no complaints. I know he crapped the bed with your team and he may eventually with us we shall see...

None of us have/had any expectations of Lehner he has been good so far. Some games he has been excellent. So far so good no complaints. I know he crapped the bed with your team and he may eventually with us we shall see...
- Cptmjl

It was in response to Eklund's title. I wouldn't expect him to get better.

He actually kind of nailed it. His lateral movement isn't great, and he has a tendency to over- pursue the puck. He is a very large goalie who takes up a lot of net, but he ends up backwards or wildly out of position.

It was in response to Eklund's title. I wouldn't expect him to get better.

He actually kind of nailed it. His lateral movement isn't great, and he has a tendency to over- pursue the puck. He is a very large goalie who takes up a lot of net, but he ends up backwards or wildly out of position.
- jcragcrumple

That may end up being true, but as of now he's fine. His positioning is sound, he's pretty much square to shooters and rebound control is ok. Lateral movement may be a bit slow or clunky but he's not over-pursuing. We'll see how it works out.