Islanders: Three takeaways as point streak grows to seven games

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Head coach Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The New York Islanders point-streak increased to seven games following a strong performance in Buffalo.

The New York Islanders didn’t bring it as they should’ve initially. But, following some first intermission tweaks, they cruised to a 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.

Here are three takeaways from a very Trotz-ian game indeed.

1. New York Islanders with a perfect third period

If Barry Trotz were a painter, then Monday’s third period would be his Mona Lisa. If he were a sculptor, it would be his Statue of David. It was the quintessential Trotz period.

That may sound funny, and it is, but it’s also true. The final frame of Monday’s 3-1 victory embodied Trotz-ian hockey in every way. The period, in which the Buffalo Sabres didn’t manage to get a shot-on-goal through to Semyon Varlamov (the first time in Islanders history the team didn’t allow a SOG in a complete period), was what New York Islanders hockey under Barry Trotz has been all about.

It was low-event, to put it plainly. Every night I sit on my couch and take notes during the game. Half-way through this third period, I questioned whether I had been paying enough attention to the game because I had scarcely written a thing about the third. It was just that kind of period.

Monday’s final 20 minutes are the exact type of thing that draws the ire of other fanbases league-wide too. The Islanders sit back too much, they’re boring, they’re too focused on playing anti-hockey. Those would be valid criticisms if this were a rec. league game, but it’s not.

The Islanders ran out to a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes of play, and they decided to punt, figuratively speaking, and force Buffalo to come a full 200 feet with the puck every time they wanted to do anything. They played a good final 20. They didn’t take any undue risks. They outshot Buffalo 12-0 in shots on goal, but even more impressive they only allowed one (1) unblocked shot attempt.

All told, Buffalo posted a .01 xGF mark for Monday’s third period, according to Natural Stat Trick. Now, the Islanders didn’t exactly light the world on fire in that category either, they finished the third with .27 xGF. But the Islanders didn’t have to do any more than what they did. It was the kind of period you’d hear Butch Goring say the words “chip and chase” a lot.

Buffalo looked out of sorts by the end of the third and showed the toll of not having played since January 31. They were still missing half a dozen regulars on Monday night due to NHL COVID protocols, the result of having played the COVID-ravaged New Jersey Devils just before that team’s outbreak exploded.

Despite that, Buffalo is still a dangerous offensive team. So, again, the Islanders played the third period exactly how Barry Trotz would want them to. No unnecessary risks, short shifts, don’t get caught going too deep in the offensive zone. A couple of times the Isles slipped up, but every time they were there to catch themselves before Buffalo could get a shot away.

So, sure, it wasn’t the most exciting thing to happen Monday night. But, it was an Islanders win. Last I checked this is the best ice hockey league in the world, winning is all that matters.

Anthony Beauvillier (18) Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /

2. With Beauvillier’s return looming, who comes out of the lineup?

When asked about Anthony Beauvillier’s status on Monday morning, Barry Trotz vaguely hinted that Beau could be back in the Islanders lineup soon. Trotz didn’t reject the idea that Beauvillier could even play Monday night, but in the end, the Islanders rolled with the same lineup they iced Saturday night vs. Boston.

But, Beauvillier isn’t going to be out forever, and it’s possible he returns for the second half of this back-to-back in Buffalo. So, should that be the case, who would exit the Islanders lineup to make room for Beau going forward?

The seemingly obvious choice would be Leo Komarov, whose purpose in the lineup is generally reserved to being a winger on one of the Islanders penalty killing lines. Keep in mind, the Islanders penalty kill is ranked 24th league-wide following being shredded on the first of Buffalo’s two-man advantage opportunities on Monday.

So, Leo is an option to make way for Beauvillier. I think most fans would see that as a perfectly fine option. Take Leo out, slide Beau in his place, and see how a third line of Beauvillier – Pageau – Wahlstrom works out. In theory that sounds great, and I’d welcome the chance to see how that line operates, but in reality, I find it hard to believe Komarov is going to come out.

If anyone is going to sit from the third line, I’d expect it’ll be Oliver Wahlstrom.

It’s not that I think Wahlstrom has played poorly. Quite the opposite, actually, I think Wahlstrom has looked increasingly strong. He picked up a secondary assist on Brock Nelson’s power-play goal on Monday, and the shots he let rip from the point during the Islanders’ second power-play opportunity again showed off the release that scouts have swooned over Wahlstrom for since his pre-draft days.

No, it’s not that I think Wahlstrom should come out of the lineup, it’s more about what I think will happen instead.

Similarly, I don’t want Michael Dal Colle moved off the second line to facilitate Beau’s return to the lineup. I’ve liked what MDC has brought to the second line since he was included there. That second line has been better than the trio of Beau – Nelson – Bailey was to start this season, and that’s gotta count for something.

Semyon Varlamov #40 of the New York Islanders. (Photo by Kevin Hoffman/Getty Images) /

3. Varlamov’s strong first period

The latter two periods of Monday’s action were almost entirely in the Islanders’ favor, and so Semyon Varlamov was tested sparingly then. But, the first period was not that way at all.

Whether it was Buffalo coming out with a lot of jump, or the Islanders not executing to start the game, the Sabres controlled most of the first period. From about five minutes in, up until the last couple shifts, the Islanders didn’t play great hockey despite having scored twice, first off a forced turnover by Mat Barzal, then off a wide-angle shot on the rush from J.G. Pageau.

The Islanders led, even if they didn’t really deserve to.

Moneypuck’s “Deserve to Win O’Meter” is a fun little tool for showing who should be winning while a game is still happening. How do they do that? Well, by re-enacting the game 1,000 times and regressing each team’s goalie performance towards average.

They have a much better explainer page on their site, go check it out, I’m too tired to explain any further.

Anyway, I usually check the Deserve to Win O’Meter after every period the Islanders play. Tonight, I wasn’t surprised to see the meter read that Buffalo should win the re-enacted game 57.2% of the time after 20 minutes.

But, thankfully, Varlamov was sharp when the Islanders needed him to be. They didn’t need to worry about regressing their goaltending performance to average, because Varlamov was above-average whenever called upon, as he has been for much of this season.

It’ll be easy to revisit this game and say the Islanders played such a strong brand of heavy, defense-first hockey because of the really good final 40 minutes the team played. But, the whole game wasn’t that way. Varlamov was called upon to keep the game in control at times while his team found their legs during the first period, and he did so.

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