New York Islanders 3 Things to be Excited for in 2018-19

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NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 04: Matt Martin #17 of the New York Islanders (l) celebrates his goal at 11:00 of the second period against the Tampa Bay Lightning and is joined by Casey Cizikas #53 (r) at the Barclays Center on April 4, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The Best Fourth Line in Hockey

Remember 2015-16? When the Islanders finished with a 45-27-10 record for 100 points and finished fourth in the Metropolitan Division? That was also the last time we saw the best fourth line in hockey.

The line of Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas, and Cal Clutterbuck were broken up at the end of the season as Matt Martin was allowed to walk in free agency. The Toronto Maple Leafs signed the tough winger and we thought that was the end.

But two years later, Matt Martin is back with the Islanders. New GM Lou Lamoriello traded Eamon McAdams for the third piece of the Islanders fourth line. Now that Martin’s back we can’t help but remember how those three played.

Get hyped.

The beauty of the Martin, Cizikas, Clutterbuck trio wasn’t just their physical play, though that was a big part of it, its everything else they did. In 2015-17 they all reached highs in points. Martin put up 19 (career-high), Cizikas had 29 (career-high) and Clutterbuck put up 23 points.

The trio Quatro as I’ve come to call them, weren’t just able to keep the puck out of the Islanders zone with some top-tier forechecking, they were also dangerous offensively. Teams had to be careful for the 12-15 minutes the three were on the ice.

As I said. Get hyped. I know that I am.

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Next. 2018-19 Isles Trophy Candidates

The 2018-19 season might be not be slatted for the most successful in franchise history before a puck has even been dropped, but there’s still a lot to be excited about.