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New York Islanders 2019-20 NHL Season Preview, Lineup and Predictions

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 28: A general view of the arena prior to the game between the New York Islanders and the Carolina Hurricanes in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Barclays Center on April 28, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 28: A general view of the arena prior to the game between the New York Islanders and the Carolina Hurricanes in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Barclays Center on April 28, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – MARCH 05: Leo Komarov #47 of the New York Islanders prepares to skate against the Ottawa Senators at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on March 05, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders defeated the Senators 5-4 in the shoot-out. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Lineup

This is my projected lineup on opening night:

Scratches: Josh Ho-Sang, Tom Kuhnhackl

I don’t have Josh Ho-Sang in this lineup, I just don’t see Lamoriello and Trotz keeping Leo Komarov off this team. For the first few games, Leo might have to bounce around between LW and RW but I just don’t see them keeping him off the team.

The rest of the lineup is pretty chalk. Beau is back on the top line to take a second kick at the can. Maybe this time Beauvillier can run with the opportunity to play with Barzal and become that ~60 point player.

Scratch: Johnny Boychuk

Noah Dobson will make the Islanders roster this season. It makes little sense to send him back to junior this year. With two memorial cups in two years, what else can he possibly learn? He could gain more confidence, but I would imagine that two memorial cup rings already fill a players head with a ton of confidence already.

The two goalies will clearly by Semyon Varlamov and Thomas Greiss. I’m sure the season will start with Varlamov being the starter and Greiss the backup.

Prediction

The Islanders finish around a wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. They showed everyone last season that they know how to win. On paper, the Islanders didn’t get any better, but they didn’t get much worse either.

Some of their weaknesses can easily be addressed in 2019-20. It might mean that some of their strengths take a slight hit.

I can see them dropping a few points, but a 95 to 98 point season is entirely possible for the Islanders

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