Brock Nelson has new wingers.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- After the New York Islanders were held to two or fewer goals for the fourth time in their last six games, head coach Patrick Roy decided to make lineup changes ahead of Sunday's game against the Boston Bruins.
While change to the forward configuration was necessary when Simon Holmstrom fell victim to an upper-body injury in their 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 29, Roy elected to make some pretty big changes following their 2-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.
The Anders Lee-Mathew Barzal-Jean-Gabriel Pageau line, which was leading the NHL in Expected Goals, is no more.
Instead, Roy has elected to move Brock Nelson to the team's top line, centering him between Lee and Barzal.
"Yeah, we just want to try different things to help the scoring," Roy said. "And we thought that'd be a good way to go."
Here's the rest of the lineup changes:
Nelson has no goals in his last 16 games. Bo Horvat has one in his last five, with Barzal scoring just once in his eight games since returning from injury.
Anthony Duclair has just one goal in his six games since returning to the lineup.
The important decision here is obviously Nelson.
Having the pending unrestricted free agent alongside Lee, the team's leading goal scorer and point producer, and Barzal, the team's best playmaker, should help create many chances for No. 29 to rediscover his goal-scoring touch.
Here's more updates from practice:
The Islanders will play the Bruins at 6 PM ET on Sunday. For non-Optimum users, this game will be on MSGSN. Despite the MSG Networks/Altice contract dispute, the ESPN+ broadcast will be blacked out.