The New York Islanders have a similar lineup compared to what we saw last season, but there have been some changes. Similar to the piece I did on the Carolina Hurricanes, this article will take a look at New York’s current forward group and how it differs from last year’s playoff lineup.
Here’s the forward lineup from New York’s first game of the 2019 playoffs against Pittsburgh:
Lee - Barzal - Eberle
Bailey - Nelson - Kuhnhackl
Beauvillier - Filppula - Komarov
Martin - Cizikas - Clutterbuck
The middle-six could look different than this, but here’s a projected lineup for this year’s qualifying round:
Lee - Barzal - Eberle
Beavillier - Nelson - Bailey
Komarov - Pageau - Brassard
Martin - Cizikas - Clutterbuck
We can expect the first and fourth lines will remain the same, with the changes coming in the middle-six. The two additions in the forward group this year are Derick Brassard and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who replace Valtteri Flippula and Tom Kuhnhackl in the lineup.
While Filppula was alright as a third-line center, Pageau is a clear upgrade. He can produce offensively, while playing a very solid two-way game. With Brassard, while he could be more consistent, he’s certainly a better option for the top-nine than Kuhnhackl.
I’d also say that Anthony Beauvillier has developed his game and is more capable than he was last year. He was on pace to score 20 more points than he did last season and is becoming more capable of playing in the top-six.
While there haven’t been any drastic changes, the Islanders’ forward group is certainly better off than they were last season, with the additions of Brassard, Pageau and the development of Beauvillier. When facing a Panthers team that’s very capable of scoring goals, these upgrades could make a difference for the Islanders.
***NOTE: We've launched a HockeyBuzz Islanders Twitter account! For anyone interested, you can follow @HB_Islanders for updates on articles, Islanders news, etc. We're starting right from scratch, so any followers would be appreciated!***
Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted on Monday):
Who do you think is the biggest addition to the Islanders' forward group?
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