Trailing early in Toronto, the Islanders' new bench boss sent a clear message by demoting struggling veterans and promoting high-energy skaters to spark an urgent offensive comeback.
TORONTO -- New York Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer used a similar lineup throughout his first NHL training camp on Long Island.
When the puck dropped against the Toronto Maple Leafs, these were the lines:
However, with the Islanders trailing the Maple Leafs 2-0 at 11:55 of the second period, DeBoer started to alter his lines.
First, he rewarded Anthony Duclair with more minutes after the veteran got off to a strong start, then flopped him with Matias Maccelli.
"He had good legs tonight," DeBoer said on Duclair. "So I wanted to reward him. I thought he was working, and he was moving. He had some juice there that I thought he could help some of the top guys with his legs."
But, then, with Maccelli playing a solid game, DeBoer elected to play the offseason signing with Duclair and Cal Ritchie, demoting a struggling Brayden Schenn to the fourth line.
Emil Heineman, who played most of his 5-on-5 minutes with Bo Horvat last season, found himself back up with the club's newest captain and Kyle Palmieri.
That move paid dividends because their connection at even strength showed its worth on the penalty kill when Horvat found Heineman off the rush to get the Islanders on the board at 14:09 of the third.
Simon Holmstrom, who the club hopes to be a top-line forward this season, went back alongside his longtime linemate Jean-Gabriel Pageau and rookie Victor Eklund.
Here are the advanced metrics from the loss, courtesy of Naturalstattrick.com.
DeBoer having to alter the lines in game one of the regular season could be viewed as a negative, but at the same time, seeing a coach reward certain players while holding others accountable, regardless of their status in the league, is a positive.
We'll see what the lines look like on Friday when the Islanders return to the ice ahead of their Saturday night home opener against the New Jersey Devils.
