Islanders News: The Silence of the B’s

The New York Islanders still haven’t “found their game,” in the parlance of our Trotzian times, at least not from all four lines, all three pairs, and all 60 minutes.

Thursday night was the latest example, where a lead earned by a really good shift of forechecking by the Barzal line and a smart pounce by Scott Mayfield was reversed in the blink of an eye at the end of the second period.

An uncharacteristic pair of penalties from Casey Cizikas contributed to the swing before Mathew Barzal pulled them even in the third period. But one of the focal points in Barry Trotz’s post-game was how silent (or even “analytics were terrible”) that the line of Anthony Beauvillier, Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey has been.

It’s often tough to isolate credit/blame on a line, but to my eyes Bailey has been invisible (and I’m not a knee-jerk Bailey basher), Beauvillier has been very inconsistent (which is not new for him), and Nelson has been pretty steady. A center has more to do, more opportunities to affect play at both ends, and is generally more noticeable, so those variables could be biasing my lens on Nelson.

Thus Spoke Barry

Here’s Barry Trotz’s full post-game. “That’s the game. Every minute matters. You have to focus on the task at hand.” He also said J-G Pageau’s illness is “exactly” like that which took Anders Lee out of the lineup in Chicago:

Islanders News

• About last night: A pretty great 17 minutes of the second period was undone late. [LHH | Isles | Newsday | AP]
• On that Nelson line, which may be targeted for a shakeup. [Newsday]
• Renovations and optimism in Bridgeport. [CT Post]
• Bob Bourne, Bobby Nystrom and others, including a few Canadiens, discuss what it was like to win three (and eventually four) Stanley Cups in a row and how the Lightning must approach it. [Athletic]
• Based on what Trotz said yesterday, it seems like Semyon Varlamov will be able to play in the back-to-back this weekend. But it is the goalie’s call. [AM NY]

Elsewhere

Last night’s other NHL scores include the Capitals beating the Devils and the Rangers winning again, this time over the Predators.

• The Hurricanes continued the Canadiens’ winless start and their social media account went on trolling. [Sportsnet]
• The Canadiens are being severely outplayed, and it’s not even close. [TSN] So Marc Bergevin holds a presser to take some of the heat. [THW]
• The Jets pulled out a win while short due to Covid absences, but they’re not sure if they have an “outbreak” on their hands. [TSN]
• Figure skaters are increasingly finding gigs teaching skating skills to NHL teams. [NHL]
• Kevin Bieksa discusses the special spin-magic of Sedin passing. [Vancouver is Awesome]
• How Connor McDavid’s work on his one-timer affects the Oilers power play. [Sportsnet]
• How Jack Hughes’ shoulder injury hits a Devils weakness. [All About The Jersey]