The New York Islanders knocked off the New York Rangers 2-1 in an exhibition game last night, in preparation for the qualifying round. This will be a bit longer than most articles, but I’m going to give some thoughts on each player who played in last night’s game and how I think they performed.
- FORWARDS -
JOSH BAILEY: I thought Bailey was actually quite good, especially in the first period. He was able to connect with some good passes on the rush, while also keeping control of the puck in the offensive zone and finding teammates in some good areas. He did make some poor decisions with the puck as the game went on but he was still putting himself in position to make an impact in the Rangers’ end and overall, Bailey had a relatively decent game.
Performance: Met expectations
MATHEW BARZAL: He was working hard in all zones and delivered as expected. He took a bad penalty in the first period, but was still by far the best player on his line, creating rushes and controlling the puck in the offensive zone. He also rushed back in the first period to break up an odd-man rush, which was pretty impressive.
Performance: Met expectations
ANTHONY BEAUVILLIER: Beauvillier was flying right from the get-go. He was getting chances in the first period, including a great individual effort where he drew a penalty and was eventually rewarded with his goal in the second period. As the game went on, he was intercepting passes, was way better with the puck than I remember and ended up using his body to control the puck and draw a penalty from Artemi Panarin. He had a great game and was maybe New York’s best player.
Performance: Surpassed expectations
DERICK BRASSARD: Brassard was a player who I found myself really surprised by. He was really comfortable carrying the puck and was involved in the offensive zone. He was even backchecking fairly hard and was more intentional in getting the puck out of the defensive zone. He was looking for plays rather than just handing off the puck to a teammate, which he was making a habit of just before the season was paused, and in my opinion, this was the best he’s looked in a while.
Performance: Surpassed expectations
CASEY CIZIKAS: He wasn’t especially noticeable for the first two periods but he was hard on the forecheck and didn’t stand out in a bad way. I thought the third period was his best and we saw him win battles in the corners to keep control in the offensive zone.
Performance: Met expectations
CAL CLUTTERBUCK: He was forechecking hard and the fourth line overall made an impact. That said, Clutterbuck was much better without the puck than he was with it.
Performance: Met expectations
JORDAN EBERLE: He still has a lot of trouble winning puck battles and he struggled when under pressure, resulting in a few turnovers. At times, it looked like he was just going through the motions and wasn’t battling very hard. Eberle didn’t look great.
Performance: Didn't meet expectations
ROSS JOHNSTON: I still don’t like Johnston playing in the top-nine, but he actually looked alright. I’d still certainly prefer him on the fourth line but he had a decent game.
Performance: Met expectations
ANDERS LEE: I was really disappointed in Lee’s performance. He was barely noticeable for most of the game, losing the battles he normally wins and his compete level wasn’t really where it needed to be.
Performance: Didn’t meet expectations
MATT MARTIN: Martin actually had a really strong game. He played with intensity, was battling in front of the net and was just about always able to find a teammate when he had possession of the puck.
Performance: Surpassed expectations
BROCK NELSON: Nelson was another forward that I thought wasn’t where he needed to be. He was more involved than Lee for sure but he seemed to be trying to do way too much on his own. As a result, he struggled to make much of an impact offensively and he needs to use his teammates more going forward.
Performance: Didn’t meet expectations
JEAN-GABRIEL PAGEAU: It wasn’t a disappointing game from Pageau but he couldn’t get much going offensively at even strength. That said, he was battling hard, engaging in puck battles along the boards and his compete level was there. He did a good job plugging up the neutral zone and preventing zone entries as well and was strong in his own end.
Performance: Met expectations
- DEFENSE-
JOHNNY BOYCHUK: I didn’t love Boychuk’s performance. He got caught out of position, had a couple turnovers and his only memorable play that was somewhat positive was his fight. He looked pretty slow overall.
Performance: Didn’t meet expectations
NOAH DOBSON: I thought Dobson actually looked really good. He was carrying the puck more through the neutral zone and looked way more comfortable dealing with the puck behind the net in the defensive zone. He looked like a much more confident player overall and while I think the chances of him getting into any playoff action are slim (unless there are injuries), I wouldn’t be as nervous if he was forced into action.
Performance: Surpassed expectations
ANDY GREENE: Greene started a bit slow but really picked up his play as the game went on. His gap control could’ve been better but he ended up making a great stretch pass to Beauvillier for his goal and was even carrying the puck at times. He certainly made a case to play over Boychuk.
Performance: Surpassed expectations
NICK LEDDY: Leddy’s performance was pretty much right on par with expectations. He was pretty good in puck battles, using his body to get control of a puck and was also jumping into the play. However, his positioning in the defensive zone was poor and he lost Jesper Fast then didn’t get himself in front of the net after Greiss’ save, leading to the Rangers’ goal.
Performance: Met expectations
SCOTT MAYFIELD: I thought Mayfield looked a bit slow, like he was having to re-adjust to the speed of the game. He wasn’t as strong in the defensive zone and didn’t look very comfortable making difficult plays. There were no huge red flags but he wasn’t as engaged as usual.
Performance: Didn’t meet expectations
ADAM PELECH: In my opinion, Pelech wasn’t overly noticeable for the majority game but I suppose to an extent, that’s a positive. There weren’t any concerns with him in his return to the lineup.
Performance: Met expectations
RYAN PULOCK: Pulock was the team’s best all-around defender, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Pretty much every time he was first to a dump-in, the Islanders were able to exit the zone. He was great defensively and looked like he was picking up right where he left off.
Performance: Met expectations
DEVON TOEWS: Toews looked great offensively and fine defensively. He was jumping into the rush, was one of the few players who I thought looked alright on the power play and scored a great goal, coming in alone down the wing. It was a strong game for Toews.
Performance: Surpassed expectations
- GOALIES-
THOMAS GREISS: He only faced eight shots but was solid. On the goal, he made a good first save and can’t be faulted for what happened after that.
Performance: Met expectations
SEMYON VARLAMOV: Other than bobbling a few pucks, Varlamov looked really good. Through much of the game, the Islanders gave up shots but not a ton of great chances, however, when they did, Varlamov was there. He made those ridiculous saves in front of the net with the partial pad stack and I think it’s pretty likely we’ll see him start the series.
Performance: Surpassed expectations
- OTHER QUICK NOTES-
- Barzal was being counted on to pretty much carry the first line. Eberle and Lee need to make more of an impact.
- The Islanders’ defense was generally really strong at making smart plays under pressure below the goal line.
- Even though the Islanders were getting outshot by quite a margin at the beginning of game, they weren’t giving up too many good chances. Varlamov will stop most long-range shots that he’s able to see.
- The power play definitely still needs work.
- It wasn’t perfect, but the Islanders looked really strong defensively. They’re going to need more out of their top-six but between their blue line and goaltending, that was a promising win.
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Here's today's poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Were you happy with the Islanders' play last night?
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