The Islanders’ seven-game road trip really gets down to business tonight with the opening of a back-to-back at Vegas and then Utah.
Sorry for the mid-week gap in posts — I had something planned about the crater in the fourth line but an ill-timed broadband outage scrapped that. Dan and Mike touched on it in the latest Islanders Anxiety podcast, how it’s painful to watch Nystrom Award-level Islander Casey Cizikas struggle, along with Kyle MacLean and whoever else they rotate in. You’ve got two guys who are limited (one always has been, one is late career), which itself isn’t a recipe for success for whoever joins them, be it Anthony Duclair or Max Tsyplakov.
A casual scan of the Islanders’ individual rankings in Corsi percentage, goals for/goals against, scoring chances for/against, high danger for/against percentage — all these categories do not flatter that group. And it’s not like they’re being used in a defensive zone role either.
Having an unresolved or underwater fourth line is not uncommon for your average or below-average NHL team. But it does highlight a weakness this squad has at 5-on-5.
Anyway, they’ll be tested in Vegas tonight starting at 10 p.m. EST. First Islanders Goal picks go here.
Last night’s scores include just four games, but the Rangers won in Tampa, while the Devils won in OT over Chicago and the Flyers picked up a regulation point.