Islanders Beat Leafs 4-3 in OT Former New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/new-york-islanders-2023-24-2022-23-barzal-horvat-dobson-nelson-sorokin] head coach Barry Trotz [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/barry-trotz-new-york-islanders-2023-nhl-draft-nashville-predators] hasn't been behind the Long Island bench since the Islanders concluded the 2021-22 season with a 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Despite the cloudiness that still surrounds the mysterious "firing" of the future Hall of Fame head coach, Trotz's time on Long Island was a success. After coming over following a Stanley Cup win with the Washington Capitals, he assessed the Islanders' roster and determined that winning games would come from stopping goals rather than scoring them. Over the course of his tenure, with Lane Lambert [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/new-york-islanders-lane-lambert-dean-evason-john-hynes-jay-woodcroft-bruce-boudreau] by his side as an assistant -- a role he had served since 2011 with Nashville -- the Islanders became one of the best defensive teams in hockey. That defensive shutdown ability allowed them to make two trips to the semi-finals in 2020 and 2021 before missing the playoffs in 2021-22 after a shaky season for Trotz and his team. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAzNjA2MzY0NjY3MjU4ODEx/usatsi_17574777.jpg] Under Lambert over the last two seasons, the Islanders have tried to become a more offensive team, given the addition of more offensive players to the roster. The defense has certainly taken a hit, but the offense has come alive and has averaged over 3.00 goals per game for a second straight season. Lambert's first season ended with a playoff berth before falling in six games to the Carolina Hurricanes. Around that time, Trotz, who hadn't committed to coaching in the league, was named the second general manager in the history of the Predators, as the legendary David Poile -- who hired Trotz as the first head coach in franchise history back in 1998 -- stepped down. Trotz came out to announce the Predators first pick of the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville and got a standing ovation: This season, the Islanders, in Lambert's second season at the helm, are in the thick of the playoff race, surviving due to their offense, with the defense being incredibly banged up for most of the season. Saturday night marks the first night that the Islanders will face the Trotz-led Predators. Following the Islanders' morning skate, Lambert was asked about seeing Trotz again, as the two spent 11 years working with one another. "'I've already seen him this morning at the rink," Lambert told reporters in Nashville. "I mean, we all have fond memories. I was with him for 11-plus years. I used to call him Coach Barry. Now I call him GM Barry." With Trotz no longer on the Islanders' side of things, talking about the Islanders isn't something the two did when they caught up Saturday morning. "That's not on the table," Lambert said. "They're the opponent, and I mean, we talk about families and things like that, and the hockey part of it is sort of secondary in terms of that, but we're not on the same bench now." As for how hard that is, given talking Islanders hockey was a natural conversation for years: "We also spent a lot of time together, family-wise and this and that. So I don't know that it's really that weird of an adjustment. We can talk generically about hockey and we certainly do that too." Here's what Barry Trotz said: The Islanders, who are 0-7-2 over thier last nine games against Nashville, battle the Predators Saturday night at 8 PM ET. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAzNjA2MzgxNTc4NjkyNTM5/hockey-night.jpg]
