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The New York Islanders are floundering, the cushion created by a 16-3-1 start all but gone after last night’s 3-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche ended a four-game road trip. They have now been passed in the standings by the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes and are tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets. They sit only six points better than the ‘rebuilding’ New York Rangers in the final wild card spot.
With the season-ending injury to Adam Pelech and the defense taking a considerable downturn over the past 15 games, the much-needed trade by president and general manager Lou Lamoriello to get Andy Greene is simply not enough. Yes, it takes some critical minutes away from a struggling Noah Dobson and will lighten the load on Nick Leddy, Devon Toews, Ryan Pulock and Johnny Boychuk, who have all felt the strain of increased assignments and tougher consistent matchups. It does nothing to address an offensive drought that has reached epic proportions.
USA TODAY Sports Right now, the trade market seems as expensive as its ever been, with a good return found on Tyler Toffoli and Blake Coleman as starters. With Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas both still out of the lineup with skate lacerations, Lamoriello might be wise to shift away from the Chris Kreider and JG Pageau’s of the world and set his sights on filling in his bottom six with players such as Vladislav Namestnikov, Derek Grant or Barclay Goodrow. Or do nothing.
While those are far from sexy name acquisitions, they all could fill a defensive, penalty killing, faceoff roll for New York. The top-six forward appears to be out of reach and out of Lamoriello’s comfort zone for balancing the present with the future. Everyone wants to believe they are last season’s St. Louis Blues and who am I to say your team isn’t? But take a realistic look at the Islanders, and all their pluses and minuses, and go from there. Do you truly believe they are a player away?
As far as the play on the ice, they started out okay, dropping a game to the scorching Tampa Bay Lightning before rallying to defeat the Washington Capitals and Flyers. What did they do for an encore? Score two goals in their next four on the trip, losing to the Nashville Predators, Vegas Golden Knights, Phoenix Coyotes and Avalanche. That’s four of a possible 14 points. It’s their first regulation losing streak of more than two games under Trotz (now sitting at four).
Ed Mulholland/USA TODAY Images Greene’s first game as an Islander was a success, even though the team dropped a 2-1 decision to the Coyotes. He came exactly as advertised - calm, cool and collected, fitting in seamlessly on the left side with Ryan Pulock. For good measure, the defensive-minded Greene even collected an assist on Anthony Beauvillier’s third-period goal across 19:46 of ice time (2:32 on the penalty kill). He followed that up with another 16:30 last night (3:12 on the PK) and blocked three shots.
“I really liked his game,” Trotz said to Newsday after Monday’s contest. “It’s what the doctor ordered. He’s poised. I thought he handled their top line [which includes Greene’s former Devils teammate, Taylor Hall] and he’s a good complement for Pully. It’ll definitely be a good fit for us.”
I’m not sure if Greene can hang around long enough to see 1,000 games (he’s currently at 924), but that kind of experience, longevity, durability and professionalism is exactly what Lamoriello and Trotz covet. It was an opportunity to bring someone in that wouldn’t have to be coddled or explained how ‘things work.’ Greene has seen it all, been well ‘around the block’. A pro’s pro, if you will.
Follow Andy on Twitter: @AndyGraz_WFAN