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Islanders: Thomas Greiss 2019-2020 Season Review

By Matt O'Leary |
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 30: Thomas Greiss #1 of the New York Islanders looks on against the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 30, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 30: Thomas Greiss #1 of the New York Islanders looks on against the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 30, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

After a strong 2019 campaign with the New York Islanders, Thomas Greiss was again solid in net for Barry Trotz’s team.

Thomas Greiss entered the 2019-2020 season with high expectations. In 2019, he was excellent for Barry Trotz’s Islanders team finishing with a .927 save percentage and a 2.28 goals against average.

Could he repeat that going into a contract year? In the first two months of the year, Greiss was downright great. Between October and November, he finished 10-2 with a .932 save percentage and a 2.11 goals against average.

Unfortunately from there, his regular-season got inconsistent. In December his save percentage dipped to .894. He’d bounce back with a .945 save percentage month in January before finishing with a .864 and .850 in February and March.

On the season, Greiss finished with a .913 save percentage and a 2.74 goals against average. At five on five, Greiss ranked 22nd out of qualified goalies with a .922 save percentage.

Greiss was also solid against high danger chances according to Natural Stat Trick. He ranked 15th in the league with a .841 save percentage.

In the return to play, Greiss assumed the backup role for the Islanders which was expected. He ended up starting three games and he appeared in a fourth as well finishing 2-2 with a .929 save percentage and a 2.02 goals against average.

Those numbers are actually a little inflated. In his first three games, he had a .966 save percentage with just three goals allowed. Unfortunately in Game 1 against Tampa, the wheels fell off as he allowed three goals on nine shots.

Greiss was a reliable 1B for the Islanders this year, which is exactly what he was for the majority of his Islanders tenure. For the 2019-2020 season, I give Greiss a B grade.

He was more reliable than not, and now he’s expected to hit the market and should get a chance to cash in somewhere else. The Islanders will more than likely roll with Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin in 2020-2021 so it looks like Greisser’s time on the Island is done.

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Greiss will go down as a solid Islander who was likely underappreciated during his time with the team. Best of luck in 2020 and beyond, Greiss.

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