Sansided
Eyes On Isles
Home/Editorials

New York Islanders Round Table: Deciding a Crunch Time 6

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 07: HBO's Bill Simmons speaks onstage during "Ahead of the Curve - The Future of Sports Journalism" at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on October 7, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 07: HBO's Bill Simmons speaks onstage during "Ahead of the Curve - The Future of Sports Journalism" at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on October 7, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for Vanity Fair) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 06: Anders Lee #27 and Brock Nelson #29 of the New York Islanders prepare to play against the Nashville Predators at the Barclays Center on October 06, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Predators defeated the Islanders 4-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 06: Anders Lee #27 and Brock Nelson #29 of the New York Islanders prepare to play against the Nashville Predators at the Barclays Center on October 06, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Predators defeated the Islanders 4-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Michel Anderson

Barzal-Lee-Bailey-Nelson*-Leddy-Pulock
*Cizikas

I have an extra player, I know. But I’m going to use Casey Cizikas here to win an offensive zone faceoff. No center is better at winning draws for the New York Islanders than Casey Cizikas with a 49.9 percent efficiency. Take the draw, hopefully, win it, and Cizikas is right back on the bench.

From there my forwards don’t change much from the other contributors. Mathew Barzal, Anders Lee, Josh Bailey, and Brock Nelson are clearly the cream of the crop for the Islanders in terms of offensive players.

They are easily the four players that Barry Trotz will and should have lined up for an offensive zone draw in crunch time. Brock’s qualities are obvious this season, but he’s my Cizikas replacement simply because I rate him lower than the other three when it comes to moving the puck around in the offensive zone.

I differ, at least slightly when it comes to the defenders both Brian and Matt have Ryan Pulock, just like I do. But I went with Nick Leddy over Devon Toews.

I know that Barry Trotz has Devon Toews quarterback the first power play, but the idea behind this is who is better. Who should be trusted when it counts the most. I like Devon Toews, but I haven’t seen him play in these big situations yet to trust him.

Nick Leddy has played in the playoff, he’s been in tense and stressful situations on the ice. He’s also quite capable at moving the puck from the point. For me, that’s who goes out there with Pulock on the blueline.

facebooktwitterreddit