Islanders lineup adjustment has fans reacting negatively

With four losses in a row, the New York Islanders changed things up on the roster. And fans aren’t reacting well to the moves.

The New York Islanders come back to Long Island after a disastrous four-game road trip where they lost all four games and scored only two goals in the process. Things aren’t going well for the Islanders who are on the outside of the playoff picture for the first time in a long-time.

Moves need to be made to reinforce the roster. Bringing in Andy Greene was a good trade, but more needs to be done for this roster to keep pace with the rest of the Metropolitan Division.

On Friday, the New York Islanders announced that Cal Clutterbuck* and Kieffer Bellows would be re-assigned to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and that Andrew Ladd and Otto Koivula were being called up from the AHL.

(*Clutterbuck is down on a conditioning stint after recovering from a wrist laceration.)

The resulting lineup at Friday’s practice has Islanders fans feeling in what can be best described as…not pleased.

Not a Good Looking Lineup

Reporting from Islanders practice at Northwell Health Ice Center, The Athletic’s Arthur Staple tweeted out the Isles forward lines with the ‘new’ additions to the squad.

That’s not what you would call a “good looking” roster.

Komarov is a less than effective third-line player, bumping him to play second-line duties is less than ideal. Bailey has also been less than effective as a center. It may have been the position he played in junior, but since he made the leap to the NHL in 2008 he’s been playing on the wing. You’d be surprised how much you can forget in 12 years.

Naturally, the fan base is not reacting well.

Moving Kieffer Bellows back to the AHL seems a bit strange. The former first-round pick in 2016 has been a good addition to the squad in his limited time. And now he’s back to Bridgeport.

With two goals over the last four games, it seems like an odd choice for the Islanders – who desperately need offense – to take a shooter like Bellows out of the lineup and insert Leo Komarow into the top six. Over the last four games, Bellows has four shots on net to Komarov’s one shot on net.

Thankfully, the New York Islanders will faceoff against the Detroit Red Wings tonight. The Red Wings are on pace for a historically bad season. Through 62 games they hold a 15-43-4 for 34 points and a -105 goal differential. Maybe this lineup won’t be so bad against the worst team in the league.

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As a temporary lineup, perhaps this won’t be that terrible. But this lineup needs to be improved before the Sharks come to town on Sunday. This is not a winning roster and the Isles desperately need to get back to winning ways.