Islanders Gameday News: The unrest is the bottom six
Looking to get back on his feet. | Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images
Patrick Roy aimed to put the scuttlebutt to rest, while continuing to tinker with the fourth line. Ahead of the Islanders hosting the Anaheim Ducks tonight, Patrick Roy cleared the air on speculation that he and Lou Lamoriello aren’t on the same page regarding the roster and lineup.
That speculation, innuendo, or informed reading of tea leaves (depending on your reading) stemmed from Roy not speaking to media prior to last game — Lou, who made a series of moves, did instead, and under the Lou regime, why would it ever be necessary to hear from more than one? — and then phrasing things potentially ambiguously afterward.
Anyway, Roy heard the scuttlebutt and sought to shut it down yesterday. Essentially: Lou picks the roster, I pick the lineup, and we’re both in daily conversation about what is best for both. The heart of the matter, or source of the pain, he said, is that they’re not yet comfortable with any of the combos they’ve tried in the bottom six.
Anyway, leave your First Islanders Goal picks for tonight here.
Islanders News
To expand on the above, now handed three new players, Roy is still searching for the right combos for his bottom six. (Often, that is a sign that you do not have adequate horses in your bottom six.) For the next iteration of line four, Kyle MacLean will be joined by Pierre Engvall and Hudson Fasching. [THN | Newsday | Isles]
Other updates in that last link include Alex Romanov still day to day, and Ilya Sorokin starting tonight vs. the Ducks while Semyon Varlamov will start against Columbus.
I bet he is: Matt Martin is appreciative of his one-year deal. Unspoken, but the nature of the beast: appreciative of Anthony Duclair’s injury. [Isles]
Prospect Report: Quinn Finley is on a five-game points streak, and Marcus Gidlöf impresses with tastefully restrained use of umlaut. [Isles]
Elsewhere
Last night’s scores include the Leafs (and a late-career Tavares hat trick) ending the Jets’ unblemished eight-game start to the season.
Steven Stamkos has an emotional return to Tampa. [Sportsnet]
Connor McDavid getting injured on the first shift is bad news for hockey and bad news for Man’s Search for Meaning the Oilers’ search for offense, after they were thumped 6-1 by the Jackets. [Sportsnet | NHL]
The Leafs signed defenseman Jake McCabe to a five-year extension, which is two years less than a seven-year one. [NHL]
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