After clawing their way to a 3-2 victory against the Florida Panthers on Thursday, New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy has switched up his lines in a big way heading into Saturday night's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
After clawing their way to a 3-2 victory against the Florida Panthers on Thursday, New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy has switched up his lines in a big way heading into Saturday night's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
TAMPA, FL -- After clawing their way to a 3-2 victory against the Florida Panthers on Thursday, the New York Islanders skated at Amalie Arena in preparation for their Saturday night showdown with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Despite the win, a gritty win with all 20 players and Semyon Varlamov pulling their weight, head coach Patrick Roy decided to make pretty big line changes.
"We just continue to try things and I think Brock maybe feels more comfortable as a centerman," Roy said. "And now it's Bo's time to try out the left side. I feel like Pageau has been playing really well in the middle, and Barzal has played really well, as well. We want to try to see something different. It gives us four very good lines, very balanced, and I like that."
Nelson and Palmieri have been playing well with one another on the top line, with Bo in the middle, but now No. 29 and No. 21 are back next to each other, a duo that was rather strong in the second half of last season and early on this season.
"When you eat, you have bread and butter, so they go together, don't they?" Roy said. "They've been playing well together. I was joking, but they're playing well together. And I really liked that duo right now. And I really feel like having having Hudson with Barzal and having Bo with Pageau is a good mix there."
The Hockey News asked Roy how difficult it is to make changes after wins.
"It's always tough, but at the same time, we want to continue to generate more offense. So I mean, having maybe a more balanced lineup, I think maybe that will help us."
For the first time this season, Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson, and Bo Horvat will be on their own line, a move that should create balance and a move that should make it harder for Tampa to match up against.
"We have a lot of guys that are more comfortable in the middle. We have Brock, we have Bo, we have Barzy, we have Pageau, we have Cizikas, and we have MacLean," Roy said. "I go from my past experience. A winger can't play center, but a center could play wing. So, it's a lot easier for them to adjust for some reason. And like I said, on that line with Nelson and Cizikas, both could take a face-off, so if one is having an off night, he could take the draw. On the line of Pageau and Horvat, both can take face-offs, even on their strong side, so it's another advantage.
"And then, Lee is taking face-offs on the line with Barzal. Barzal takes them on the right and Lee takes on the left so it's an experience and we'll go from there. And you know what? I love those things. I love to try things, and we just don't want to sit on the win. We want to continue to win."
Roy knows that these changes may not work, but he wants to give it a shot.
"We're curious to see. How long it's gonna last, I don't know, but I mean, we're gonna do it for now," Roy said. "We'll start the game tomorrow, and we'll go from there. The objective is winning hockey games here. And as I said to our guys this morning, I mean, we wanted to have a good practice today, make sure our legs are going, and when the puck drops tomorrow, we'll be ready for these guys. We're playing against a team that's red hot and probably the top team in the NHL right now, so it'd be a good test for our team."
Per Roy, Varlamov will start against the Lightning after stopping 26 of 28 shots against the Panthers.