New York Islanders Best Forward Lines and Defensive Pairings

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UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 16: Head coach Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders handles bench duties against the Philadelphia Flyers during a preseason game at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on September 16, 2018 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders shut out the Flyers 3-0. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

New York Islanders coach Barry Trotz seems to be mulling over the idea of moving the lines around, both up front and on the back end. Here’s a suggestion for him.

After four games the New York Islanders find themselves with a 2-2-0 record and four points on the board. It’s about exactly where we thought they’d be at the start of the season. Approximately 0.500.

The Islanders are a “hard-to-play” against team that is lacking in quality. In a three-game sample at the start of the season, everything looked fine, but the most recent game against the Predators exposed a lot.

Against the Nashville Predators, the Islanders lost focus for a good 40 minutes, couldn’t execute, and just looked well behind where an NHL team needs to be. Obviously, they lost the game.

With that in mind, Barry Trotz isn’t about to just roll out the same team against the Anaheim Ducks. He’ll switch things around:

#Isles coach Barry Trotz said after last night's 5-2 loss at Nashville he would have to rethink his line combos. Don't think he's unveiling anything today. Practice today so far all about breakouts and playing in tight spaces, getting to the net. No line rushes/D pairs shown.
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) October 14, 2018

It’s probably the last step he and Lou Lamoriello can take before they start moving pieces between the Islanders and the Sound Tigers. Or before he starts moving pieces out in a trade.

With the Islanders out of action for another few days before they face-off against the Anaheim Ducks its time to speculate as to how Trotz can stack up his forward lines and defensive pairings.