New York Islanders: Injury To Josh Bailey Means Next Man Up

If things seem bleak for the New York Islanders in the midst of a five-game losing streak, your assessment is right on point. If you thought things couldn’t get any worse, they just might have.

In a 4-0 loss at home last night, the New York Islanders lost three important players to various injuries. Josh Bailey, Andrew Ladd, and Ryan Pulock all came out of Friday night’s game hurt. Anthony Beauvillier was an emergency call-up today, signaling that at least one of them will be sidelined for Sunday’s match-up against New Jersey.

Imagine how desperate the situation would be if the New York Islanders end up losing any of the players injured last night for an extended period of time. The Islanders tasked with replacing these players’ spots will need to step right in and produce.

Josh Bailey’s injury

looked to be the most severe of the three but at this point, there have been no updates and I won’t speculate any further. If Bailey does indeed miss any significant time it would be detrimental to the Isles chances of getting things back on track. Bailey’s season up until now has been nothing short of phenomenal. Imagining an Islanders team without Bailey is cringe-inducing.

Next man up

Moving Jordan Eberle to the first line in Bailey’s presumed absence may be just the shake-up the New York Islanders need. He’s excelled with the second line but getting the opportunity to play alongside his friend, John Tavares, could unlock a new level of play from Eberle.

With Jordan Eberle moving up, I’d like to see Cal Clutterbuck get some time with Mathew Barzal and (hopefully) Andrew Ladd on the second line. His agitative style of play, in addition to his newly rediscovered offensive form, would complement both Ladd and Barzy well, in my opinion.

One would assume that Anthony Beauvillier would replace Cal Clutterbuck on the fourth line, but I’d like to see Beau get an opportunity with the third line. Jason Chimera would then try to revive his season with new linemates on the fourth line.

Who will be the hero for the New York Islanders?

Jordan Eberle would be the easy pick based solely on the guaranteed increase in scoring chances he’d experience playing with the first line.  But if I were to pick a long shot to step up and deliver it would be Brock Nelson.

If you check the most recent Brock Nelson Hibernation Tracker via Eyes On Isles Twitter, he’s long overdue to wake up:

All joking aside, Brock needs to show coach Doug Weight something resembling his former self before he finds himself down in Bridgeport to re-discover his form.

Next: Islanders GM Snow Ain't Going Nowhere

Shuffling the lines around and giving Nelson a new linemate could wake up a sleeping giant. He’s performed in the past. His ceiling for improvement is still fairly high. There’s no reason to believe his run as a productive NHL player is over and done with. This may be just the opportunity he needs to change his fortunes.