It’s going to be six months of fans assessing how the new Islanders regime is assessing the pieces it has. Last night was an apt first chapter.
Thomas Greiss stole the game! Valtteri Filppula kicked off scoring with a savvy veteran finish! And Mathew Barzal did his thing, drawing a penalty as regulation time expired and then setting up the Josh Bailey winner after some good corner play by new captain Anders Lee.
As Jenny noted in the recap, the Lee-Nelson-Eberle is a trio of shooters that likely needs work, but Nelson exhibited evidence of Trotz’s impact in tracking back.