Islanders: Three forward lineups for Barry Trotz to try

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Detroit Red Wings left wing Dmytro Timashov (Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports) /

The Likely Outcome

Even though Barry is desperate for a change it’s unlikely he deviates from that ‘safe and stable’ philosophy that got him two Jack Adams trophies and a Stanley Cup. Here’s what he’s probably going to go with on Thursday:

Lee-Barzal-Eberle
Bellows-Nelson-Bailey
Dal Colle-Pageau-Timashov
Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck

I’m not convinced that Barry is ready for Wahlstrom yet. The eleventh overall pick isn’t the best defensive player in the Islanders system and could still use some work away from the puck. Even his coach at the Allsvenskan level said as much after Wahlstrom left Sweden to return to the US.

And if we know anything about Trotz (outside of his “rookies need to hold the clipboard” approach) it’s that he likes his players to be totally solid on both sides of the puck.

But at some point, the Islanders have to accept the fact that Wahlstrom is never going to be great defensively and bring him in to help the team score goals. Cause he’s pretty darn good at that.

I just don’t think that time has come yet.

We know that Trotz isn’t only curious to see what Wahlstrom can do in the lineup but he’s also curious to see what others can do in the lineup. Which is why I put Timashov in.

Asked #Isles Barry Trotz if he was curious to see Wahlstrom in the lineup. He said he had a list of players he's curious to see, including Dal Colle, Czarnik and Timashov, not just Wahlstrom.
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) January 23, 2021

So Trotz brings in Timashov to play on the right and Michael Dal Colle on the left of Jean-Gabriel Pageau. And as with the other lineups, Kieffer Bellows stays on line two until Beauvillier returns. This absolutely seems like a Trotz lineup.

Chances Barry opts for this lineup: 8/10