At least the Islander's best center scored today

There is 0 chance Zajac sits for Czarnik lmao

The entire teams had a bad 4 games, ever since the trade they've been sluggish and unfocused. I'm not blaming the acquisitions because it's not their fault. but the team as whole has played like crap. Even the 2 games they managed win, were pure luck and could have gone either way to be honest. Barzal played his most lack luster game of the season and it had nothing to do with Bruins checking. He was just bad tonight by his standards and you can't put the blame for that on Zajac, because it was self inflicted.

the isles can't have their 3rd line be their most dangerous line offensively. Theyre not that deep. Need a line that can generate offense with ease, especially in transition. The 2nd and 4th lines have been bad for a while now and despite zajac scoring that line hasn't looked dangerous at all since zajac was put up there.

Honestly I'm getting a Lee type vibe from Zajac. I just wish he'd go to the front of the net like Lee used to. I agree with you though I think it's time to bump Palmeiri up to the first line. It's why they traded for him.

Maybe because zajac is tall? Lol - zajac is like a poor mans josh bailey, he’s a bottom 6 C at this point in his career. Barzal doesn’t need a net front guy, just give him someone who forechecks well and can keep up with him.

The funny thing about zajac is he was in the bottom 1/3 defensively on NJ this season. Trotz thinks any player who’s tall and over the age of 30 is good defensively.

I don't know about that, Lee couldn't keep up with him either and he seemed to do alright on his line. The Islanders do need a net front guy, if an opposing goalie see's the shots coming its a hell of a lot easier to stop them. Deflections can make a big difference as well because they confuse the goalie. Taking away a goalies sight line is key in my opinion.

lol zajac is painful to watch on most shifts

Too slow?

Too slow, not enough skill. Should be in the bottom 6

HE'S IN THE TOP 6????

That's not a good idea

I didn’t like lee on his line last season, but lee used last offseason to work on his skating and 4 way mobility, to be a better option off the rush and not a one dimensional player. It showed. He was dominant before his injury.

My point is barzal doesn’t need a slow one dimensional net front guy. Beau, palmieri, wahlstrom can all score off the rush and they can play the role of a net front presence.

Palmeiri maybe, he likes the dirty areas. Beau's too small and Wahlstrom likes to take the one time shot to much to be a net front presence. Finesse players like Beau and Wahlstrom would be a horrible presence in front of the net. It'd be like making Barzal stand in front and letting the defense wail on him...lol..it wouldn't work.

I don’t understand why does barzal need a net front presence? Many top lines don’t have one . Barzal is the best transition player in the nhl, put him with players that maximize his strengths.

Every team needs a net front prescence. Why do you think the Leafs went out and traded for Foligno it sure as heck wasn't his elite goal scoring ability. Like I said before, a big guy in front of the net obstructs the goalies view, forces the defense out of position because they're trying to clear him away from the net. The Bruins scored 2 goals because of that tonight. The 1st with Marchand in front of the net, although it was lucky it was a deflection. The 2nd on Smiths PP goal, with Ritchie standing directly in front of Varlamov. If the goalie can't see it. He can't stop it.

Yes you need those guys on your team, but it does not have to be on barzal’s line. Marchand isn’t strictly a net front presence, he can score in many different ways.

Barzal needs players that can score off the rush and forecheck well. Making him play a cycle and board work style doesn’t get the most out of his skillset. With a one dimensional net front presence barzal is forced to go low to high and have defenseman take shots and look for rebounds. With a lw like palmieri/beau/wahlstrom they can score in many different ways. They don’t have to limit themselves to being a net front player.

I think you're over estimating Barzals ability to control the game offensively. I know I sound like a broken record but Eberle's not a first line winger. He scores sure, but he's one of the most inconsistent players in the league. He can go on a tear where he scores 4 to 5 goals in a 2 or 3 game span. Then nothing for the next 10 games. He's streaky if Barzal had a winger that could consistently score 40 to 50 a season I'd agree with you.

Barzals numbers have been way down since Lees injury, partially because of Komarov but it doesn't help that Eberle's not scoring either. You put a big guy in front of the net and that goalie can't see Barzal coming. he's got an elite shot, much more accurate than Eberles. If the opposing defense is worried about clearing the guy away from his goalie which he should be, It opens up more ice for Barzal to do his thing. Right now, whenever Barzal touches the puck the entire team collapses on him and he's been turning over the puck a lot more recently. Not to mention the goalie has a clear view of everything coming in his direction.

I think you're over estimating Barzals ability to control the game offensively. I know I sound like a broken record but Eberle's not a first line winger. He scores sure, but he's one of the most inconsistent players in the league. He can go on a tear where he scores 4 to 5 goals in a 2 or 3 game span. Then nothing for the next 10 games. He's streaky if Barzal had a winger that could consistently score 40 to 50 a season I'd agree with you.

Barzals numbers have been way down since Lees injury, partially because of Komarov but it doesn't help that Eberle's not scoring either. You put a big guy in front of the net and that goalie can't see Barzal coming. he's got an elite shot, much more accurate than Eberles. If the opposing defense is worried about clearing the guy away from his goalie which he should be, It opens up more ice for Barzal to do his thing. Right now, whenever Barzal touches the puck the entire team collapses on him and he's been turning over the puck a lot more recently. Not to mention the goalie has a clear view of everything coming in his direction.

Not everything’s about scoring and this trap system hurts players production. Palmieri is considered a fringe 1st line winger and looks pretty damn ordinary in this defense 1st system. Patrik Laine would be lucky to score 25 goals on this team.

Eberle is on pace for 27 goals this season. On another team he’d score 30+.

Barzal is better off with a guy like beau/palmieri than a net front presence. Both can evade pressure and find soft spots in the ozone which compliments barzal’s skillset more than a guy who stands in front of the net and battles for space.

Overestimating barzal’s ability to control the game offensively?Heis is a top 10 center in the league and one of the most dominant offensive players. He is held back by trotz - on most other teams he is a 90-100 pt player

Well we'll have to agree to disagree on this one.



A 90 to 100 point player also has at least one winger that can score and that ain't Eberle. You need to step away from the spreadsheet for a moment and realize that the Islanders aren't an offensive team. They aren't the Avalanche, Penguins, Oilers or the Lightning. They don't have the personnel to play the style of hockey you want them to. They tried that style in the past with pretty much this exact team when Tavares was here and it failed on an epic level. The fact they missed the playoffs 6 times in 9 seasons including his last 2 seasons should indicate that they don't have the players for that kind of system.

Slam Trotz all you want but he's turned this team around after everyone thought the Islanders were finished and about to enter a rebuild when they lost Tavares. Has he been perfect no of course not. I haven't agreed with a lot his line up changes, He's still one of the best coaches in the league, just because he doesn't rely on analytics as much as you and a few others doesn't mean he sucks at his job. Even Dubas whose an analyst's dream GM moved away from analytics with his deadline deals because he felt it wasn't helping him come playoff time.

Anyways, I'm off to bed. Have a good night bud. [/quo
Do you consider patrik Laine a player that “can score?”

I never argued that they should should play an up tempo run and gun style - my point was to give barzal a player like beau/palmieri that have shooting talent. Trotz saddling barzal with komarov/zajac is one of the reasons why I don’t think he deserves to have success. It’s a reckless old school way of thinking.

Dubas didn’t move away from analytics lol - a lot of fans like yourself think that analytics is about skill over grit. It’s substance over style. Good players who are gritty >>> skilled players that get out shot and outscored. Foligno has solid analytics.

Well we'll have to agree to disagree on this one.



A 90 to 100 point player also has at least one winger that can score and that ain't Eberle. You need to step away from the spreadsheet for a moment and realize that the Islanders aren't an offensive team. They aren't the Avalanche, Penguins, Oilers or the Lightning. They don't have the personnel to play the style of hockey you want them to. They tried that style in the past with pretty much this exact team when Tavares was here and it failed on an epic level. The fact they missed the playoffs 6 times in 9 seasons including his last 2 seasons should indicate that they don't have the players for that kind of system.

Slam Trotz all you want but he's turned this team around after everyone thought the Islanders were finished and about to enter a rebuild when they lost Tavares. Has he been perfect no of course not. I haven't agreed with a lot his line up changes, He's still one of the best coaches in the league, just because he doesn't rely on analytics as much as you and a few others doesn't mean he sucks at his job. Even Dubas whose an analyst's dream GM moved away from analytics with his deadline deals because he felt it wasn't helping him come playoff time.

Anyways, I'm off to bed. Have a good night bud.

Do you consider patrik Laine a player that “can score?”

I never argued that they should should play an up tempo run and gun style - my point was to give barzal a player like beau/palmieri that have shooting talent. Trotz saddling barzal with komarov/zajac is one of the reasons why I don’t think he deserves to have success. It’s a reckless old school way of thinking.

Dubas didn’t move away from analytics lol - a lot of fans like yourself think that analytics is about skill over grit. It’s substance over style. Good players who are gritty >>> skilled players that get out shot and outscored. Foligno has solid analytics.