New York Islanders Podcast: 2018-19 Season Preview

The 2018-19 NHL season has officially started and the New York Islanders are soon to be in action. What can we expect from the Isles this season?

On the eve of the New York Islanders first regular season game of the 2018-19 NHL regular season, Matt and I discuss what to expect and the biggest storylines for the season.

We start from the crease out. Thomas Greiss is getting the start against the Carolina Hurricanes for the season opener. Does that mean something? Is Greiss now the number one, or is this a 1A-1B situation until Barry and Lou figure out who the better of the two is?

Then comes the blueline. This was the worst defensive team last season and they lost Calvin de Haan and replaced Dennis Seidenberg with Luca Sbisa. With Barry Trotz behind the bench, some of the Isles shortcomings on the blueline from last season will be minimized. Now we get to see if the issue was systemic or personnel.

At forward the Islanders are quite literally running two fourth lines. It seems that the likes of Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas, Cal Clutterbuck are going to be the team’s third line.

The former “best fourth line in hockey” is going to be given and bump in ice time from the last time they were together three seasons ago. But can that be fruitful in any way shape or form?

With all that being said, what the possibility that the Isles finish the season with more points than in 2017-18?

What Else Do We Cover?

What can we expect from Ryan Pulock in 2018-19? With his increased ice-time, can he be a Norris candidate this season? With ten goals and 32 points in his first full season with 18:34 average ice-time the answer should be yes.

The New York Islanders have a new third jersey, and its…”yawn”. It’s not great, but it’s not terrible. Mitch thinks that the Isles simply wanted you not to hate it, and they succeeded in that regard.

Andrew Ladd is now practicing with the team. He could be back soon, but he’s definitely going to miss the season opener. Is that a big deal, little deal, or no deal?

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