Islanders find their game against the Bruins

The New York Islanders seemingly found their game against the Boston Bruins in an exciting 4-1 victory. But then they quickly lost it again in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Where does Lou go from here?

No one knows what Lou will do. Honestly, I am surprised when any leak comes out due to the strict secrecy Lou operates with. Nevertheless, we can all agree that the team needs the following:

• Sniper to play with Matt Barzal and Anders Lee. I do not see Anders Lee and Matt Barzal splitting up any time soon. I would love a world where Barzal and Beauviller successfully play together with a sniper, but that will never happen. How will Lou go about this? Your guess is as good as mine. Here is the thing, though, I would not hold my breath on Whalstrom playing up there next season. 
• Puck moving Defensemen - you know to replace Toews and Leddy. Ideally, Lou will also find Chara and Greene replacements, and perhaps Salo will be one of the options. 
• If possible, re-sign Parise. Don’t come at me about his age or his point totals. Parise has been one of if not the best Islander this season. 

New York Islanders: Now what?

There are more moves to make, but, as was pointed out by Eyes on Isles this week, this team needs a retool, not a rebuild. 

Does the win against Boston or the loss against Montreal change any of that? Absolutely not. Here is what it should do - give us hope that this year is an outlier that started with a rather tricky 13 game road trip and COVID outbreaks. 

I was hoping that after the win over the Bruins that the Islanders could do the unexpected and string a number of wins together. A loss to Montreal - the worst team in the NHL by far - dashes that hope.