Picking Out The Biggest Surprises Of Lou Lamoriello's Presser

For my money, the biggest surprise of Lou Lamoriello's long-awaited press conference was his singling out what he called "The Fourth Line" for particular praise.

Have you ever wondered where the idea of playoff beards originated? Believe it or not, its roots can be traced to Nassau Veterans'Memorial Coliseum; even before the Isles won their first Stanley Cup. Left wing Clark Gillies is credited with the idea; designed to enhance camaraderie as the players embarked on their trail to The Stanley Cup.

Although many may think that New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello didn't say much during his almost forty-minute press conference on Tuesday, there were a few surprising comments.

Stan Fischler has more:

* For my money, the biggest surprise of Lou Lamoriello's long-awaited press conference was his singling out what he called "The Fourth Line" for particular praise.

* Otherwise known as "The Identity Line," the Matt Martin-Cal Clutterbuck-Casey Cizikas unit was -- style-wise -- compared to the Golden Knights by the Boss.

* The sentence, "They know how to play" was linked with Vegas' tough-but-smart maneuvering. "I'll take men this time of year" added Lou in reference to the Knights command of the first two games of the Final Round.

* Where Josh Bailey goes from here is anyone's guess. Perhaps the Coyotes would want a vet fourth-liner.

* If, as expected, the Isles will have at least one assistant coaching vacancy, Bales might lobby for that.

* "We'll work with him (Bailey) to help him," added Lou. Josh will have to figure out his future and get back to Lou.

* Some in the press crowd suggested that Mat Barzal is better suited to play center rather than wing.

* It's a good question, bearing in mind that before Barzy's injury, he excelled at wing with Bo Horvat at center. "We'll do what's best for the team," says Lou. Training camp will give us a better idea of Matty's positioning.

* I had to chuckle when someone suggested that Horvat was "overworked" during Barzy's long absence.

* This was a critical homestretch period of the season, and coach Lane Lambert needed all the vet experience he could get, especially Horvat's.

* Bo lost his scoring touch, but he never gave less than 100 percent in every single game.

* It's six seasons since Lou became head honcho, and he's now 80. Anyone who was at the presser knows that there's no sign of him retiring.

* For those who still figure that Carolina could have been beaten, The Boss had three words. "We beat ourselves."

* When he said that, the first thing that came to mind was Matt Martin's unnecessary end-of-period penalty that wound up costing a key goal.

* In a sense, there's a similarity to Gary Bettman's NHL fling. Now that he's in his 30th year as Commish, Gary likes his gig as much as ever. Ditto Lou.

* If public opinion means anything, Zach Parise will be back. But it's Zach's "opinion" that counts in this case and, so far, mum's the word.

* Lou fully understands Scott Mayfield's free-to-go situation. Whatever happens, I get the sense that Sebastian Aho's role will broaden next year.

* Of all the players discussed by Lou, Noah Dobson received one of the most resounding support statements about his performing future.

* In support of coach Lambert, Lamoriello singled out the club's 19-6 record after all seemed lost following the earlier slump. "It was a good recovery," Lou noted.