Rosner Wrap: Mailbag After Loss to Stars, Weekly Recap

DALLAS–It’s been a week for the New York Islanders. What started with a strong start to their four-game road trip, with a 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Monday, has took a turn. The Islanders have lost their last two games, two games that, if they played a bit stronger, they win. They fell 5-4 to the Nashville Predators on Thursday and then lost 5-2 to the Dallas Stars Saturday night.

Let’s get to your questions and concerns.

NYI HOCKEY NOW MAILBAG

Will Lou trade Beauvillier? (@islesfan777)

From a logistical standpoint, the New York Islanders should have moved Anthony Beauvillier following his Game 6 overtime winner at Nassau Coliseum back in 2021. Unfortunately for the organization, he’s been the same player for the last four years, and there’s no sign that he is suddenly going to flip a switch. It’s clear that the Islanders need another forward to counteract the play of Josh Bailey and Beauvillier. The Islanders could use the $4.15 million off their books, and given Beauvillier’s speed and age (25), he has some value, but not much.

As someone that follows and travels with the team, what do you think is preventing them from being consistent? (@nyisles130)

The biggest reason for their lack of consistency is a staple lineup. Head coach Lane Lambert has made 14 lineup changes, and he has not found a stable spot for struggling forward Josh Bailey, forcing him to use Ross Johnston in a top-nine role. Anthony Beauvillier has struggled as well, and until the Islanders add another forward, there won’t be a consistent lineup rolled out. The defense has been shaky, especially against fast teams, and it may be worth an upgrade on the backend. That’s not to say that Sebastian Aho hasn’t been solid, but as you can see, he gets caught flat-footed in his own zone and knocked off the puck too easily.

Happy to see Barzy get the monkey off his back. That was one of the better starts that we had, and we couldn’t get it done in the third. (@nyisles130)

Mathew Barzal was never worried that the goals wouldn’t come, but it’s important that he got the monkey off his back. He’s been key to the Islanders uptick in offense this season with 19 assists, which is towards the top of the NHL. Unfortunately for the Islanders, the goals came in a loss, but he did give the Islanders the lead on two separate occasions. As for the start, it might have been one of the Islanders’ best starts of the season as they pretty much shut down the best first-period team in the NHL. When you are able to do that, that’s a game you should win, given how the Islanders have played as games have gone on. Missed opportunity.

This team has a PP that will cost them a playoff spot. Could’ve extended their lead tonight, but instead kept DAL in the game. (@mdamore4)

This is actually the topic of my next article, but given how tight the Metropolitan Division is, as well as the Eastern Conference, it’s difficult to make a playoff spot when your power play only comes through once on five opportunities, when the other team is just begging you to put them away. The power play has been much better, no doubt about that, but the Islanders last night only had six shots on five power-play chances, with only one being a high-danger shot.

I don’t think winning is sustainable with their lack of attention to detail in the D zone. It’s like a fire drill every time they’re behind their own blue line. Goalies have to stand on their heads nightly. Weird to watch after the last 4 years. (@Enric0Pallazz0)

It’s rather interesting as we knew the New York Islanders would be more aggressive this season, but that their bread and butter was still their defensive game. And with the addition of the physical Alexander Romanov, this defense had the potential to get back to their shutdown brand of hockey.

They have allowed 2.79 goals against per game, which ranks 11th in the NHL but have they been shaky, especially often. They are giving up too many grade-A scoring chances on a nightly basis and where they would be without Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov is probably out of a playoff spot. You can’t rely on your goaltender to stand on his head every night and steal games and the Islanders, all five players on the ice, need to do a significantly better job. What transpired in Dallas, after the Islanders scored, was lackadaisical play, and that’s not the time to take your foot off the brake.

ISLANDERS WEEK IN REVIEW

The New York Islanders dropped their second straight game as they fell 5-2 to the Dallas Stars on Saturday night. It was a strong start against the best first team in the NHL, but sloppiness in the second and third allowed the Stars to eventually take control. The Islanders are now 11-8-0 on the season. New York Islanders.

It had been 203 days since New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal scored a goal heading into the contest against the Dallas Stars. Barzal was not pointless, as he had recorded 19 assists amongst the league leaders entering the night. He finished his night with 21 points as he scored his first and second goals of the season. New York Islanders.

After being a healthy scratch Monday against the Ottawa Senators and Thursday night against the Nashville Predators, we caught up with New York Islanders forward Josh Bailey to hear what he had to say about not playing, along with how his head coach Lane Lambert went about it. New York Islanders.

Oh, how sweep it is. The LIU Women’s Hockey team wrapped up a two-game series against Stonehill College on Saturday. LIU won with just under 42.6 seconds left in regulation, improving to 8-1-0 in conference play while improving to 9-6-0 overall this season. The win marked the seventh straight win for the Sharks under head coach Kelly Nash. LIU Sharks.

On Wednesday morning, 29-year-old forward Nikita Soshnikov cleared waivers and was reassigned to the Bridgeport Islanders, giving New York Islanders an extra roster spot. However, at this time, general manager Lou Lamoriello has not elected to re-call anyone. Here’s why. New York Islanders.

When the Bridgeport Islanders took on the Charlotte Checkers Friday, they had a new member on their bench in Nikita Soshnikov. On Tuesday, the New York Islanders waived Nikita Soshnikov, and he cleared on Wednesday. In three games this season with New York, the 29-year-old Russian forward notched four shots, with eight hits and a few giveaways in 9:56 minutes per game. New York Islanders.

On Wednesday night, the New York Islanders Girls Elite Hockey Program came together at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in celebration of 50 years of Title IX. For those that do not know, Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools that are government funded. New York Islanders.

Head coach Lane Lambert has adjusted his lineups over 14 times this season. All these microdecisions come back to general manager Lou Lamoriello and his inability or unwillingness to add to the forward group this summer. New York Islanders.

Aho has been a mainstay since taking over for Robin Salo, and in 13 games this season, the Swedish defenseman has a goal and three assists. Providing an offensive game had never been an issue for Aho. It was about his play in the defensive and neutral zones that was a cause for concern. But he’s evolved in year four. New York Islanders.