Ritchie solidifies the Islanders' top nine. The fourth line remains the biggest question mark going forward.
New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy has not shied away from altering his lines through the first 12 games of the regular season. However, while he awaits the return of Maxim Shabanov (upper body), who has only just returned to skating on his own, it looks like he's found a top-nine forward group that's worth sticking with.
With the call-up of Calum Ritchie and the trust he's earned from Roy to be the No. 2 center going forward, that's allowed the Islanders to place Mathew Barzal back on Bo Horvat's wing while providing the young centerman with two stable veterans in Jonathan Drouin and Kyle Palmieri.
Islanders' Mathew Barzal & Bo Horvat Picking Up Where They Left Off
Barzal and Horvat are dominating since reuniting. Their combined play is tilting the ice, fueling the Islanders' offense, and leading to impressive shot differentials.
Simon Holmstrom has rediscovered his game from last season after struggling through the first few weeks of this season and, alongside Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, has become a strong threesome that, at this point, cannot be separated.
Each of the top three lines has a healthy dose of playmakers, shooters, and 200-foot forwards, allowing them to excel on both sides of the puck.
The one question mark with the lineup going forward is Roy's fourth line.
For the first time in a long time, the fourth line didn't have guarantees outside of Casey Cizikas (one goal, one assist in 12 games) centering it -- and he's struggled to be himself, winning just 37.4% of his draws and working to be the guy he's always been out of the gate.
His current right winger, Anthony Duclair (one goal, two assists in 12 games), whom the Islanders signed to a four-year, $2.75 million-per-year deal to play like a top-six forward -- whether that was a fair ask or not -- has struggled to be a difference-maker.
We know what happened last season. But it seemed like Duclair was bound to have a strong start after a fantastic training camp and preseason. But after some success to start the season, Duclair hit a wall. And with how well Emil Heineman has played with Horvat, Holmstrom's recent breakthrough, and now the Ritchie addition, Duclair is playing in a role that really doesn't fit his game.
However, this is a results-driven business and right now Duclair is not getting results.
Duclair only played 9:13 minutes in their 3-1 win against the Washington Capitals on Friday before just playing 8:32 in the 3-2 comeback win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Kyle MacLean (no points in eight games) has played alongside Cizikas as of late, playing a simple North-South game, and has arguably been the best player on that struggling line, which Roy has not played much in these last two games vs. Washington and then Columbus: Cizikas, 9:59 and 8:45 respectively; MacLean, 10:09, 9:28 respectively.
The biggest issue is that Maxim Tsyplakov (one goal in eight games) has struggled to stick in the lineup due to mental mistakes. This is a player who has middle-six potential. While fans call for him to play over MacLean and others, and that his game doesn't fit a fourth line, his inability to grasp the basic hockey Roy is asking of him is why he has been a healthy scratch for what wil be three games when he watches the Islanders battle the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.
Neither the MacLean-Cizikas-Tsyplakov or the MacLean-Cizikas-Duclair line has worked out.
MacLean-Cizikas-Tsyplakov: 21:54 TOI, 22 SF, 17 SA, 0GF, 2GA
MacLean-Cizikas-Duclair: 14:36 TOI, 11 SF, 15 SA, 0GF, 0GA
Stats courtesy of MoneyPuck.com.
So, as of right now, the Islanders don't have a fourth-line answer just yet. Roy would obviously hope that either Duclair makes the most of his opportunities or Tsyplakov. But if neither takes the ball and runs with it and Shabanov remains out, could we see Marc Gatcomb make his return and win a job?
It feels like the latter is the most likeliest given what we've seen so far.