New York Islanders: Coaching decisions pay off in play-in series victory

Barry Trotz, head coach of the New York Islanders, had many decisions to make for this series, and even during it. All the decisions paid off.

The nights leading up to Aug. 1, New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz needed to make critical decisions before the puck dropped for Game 1 of the Play-in Round against the Florida Panthers.

Who should start in goal?  Which defenseman would get to play when Johnny Boychuk went down with an injury? Who should play alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Derick Brassard on the third line?

All these decisions would have to be made, tough decisions nevertheless. And Trotz made the right decisions.

Going with Semyon Varlamov in Net

When it came down to it, Trotz told Semyon Varlamov the night before that he would get the nod for Game 1. After a 19 win season with a 2.62 GAA and a .914 SV % in 45 games played, Trotz knew the kind of netminder Varlamov was after one season on the island. He was consistent.

On the other side, his counterpart Thomas Greiss was anything but that this season. The only thing that was consistent was his struggles, owning a .861 SV % and a 3.90 GAA in 32 appearances following the All-Star break. In that elusive first game of the series, Varlamov was outstanding, stopping 27 of 28 in the 2-1 win.

His success in Game 1 earned him the start for Game 2. And due to his play, he would man the crease for the entirety of the series. Playing against a high-octane offense, Varlamov was able to shut the door when it mattered the most.

In four games, the 32-year old Russian netminder helped the Islanders to a series victory in four games (3-1), allowing only seven goals over that span (1.75 GAA), with a .932 SV %.

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Despite making a crucial, boneheaded decision in Game 3 where he played the puck outside of the trapezoid contributing to the teams only loss of the series,  he was able to move on and play strong in closing the series out. Even in a back-to-back scenario (Game 2 and Game 3), Trotz had the faith to ride the hot hand.

It was a series to remember for Varlamov, who will no undoubtedly be the starter for the remainder of the postseason unless he gives alarming reasons moving forward.

Going with Greene Following Boychuk Injury

Following the departure of Boychuk after a brutal hit by Panthers’ defenseman Mike Matheson in Game 1, Trotz had a decision to make.

While it seemed obvious that Andy Greene, the 15-year veteran, would get the nod on the third pairing with Nick Leddy, statistics were making a case for rookie Noah Dobson to play instead.

But regardless of these overwhelming statistics to start Dobson, Trotz decided to go with Greene, whose demeanor and consistency on the backend was more suited for the playoffs. And Greene did not disappoint back there in the three games he played. Averaging 18 minutes per game, Greene was able to stay on the positive side of the plus/- ledger, picking up an assist, five blocks, while laying the body four times.

The 37-year old veteran played his usual lockdown defense, but also owned a Corsi For % of 51.6%, meaning that his team had the puck more than half the time when he was on the ice. Even if Boychuk is ready to return, I believe that it will be rather difficult to see Greene exit this lineup.

Changing Up the Third Line Twice

After witnessing Ross Johnston playing alongside Pageau and Brassard in the 2-1 exhibition win over the New York Rangers on July 29, we thought there was a possibility that he would be there when the series got underway three days later. Trotz had other ideas, as he started depth forward Tom Kuhnhackl.

This was a bit of a head-scratcher on the surface, as this forward only played in 28 games this season, posting just six points (3G, 3A) and a plus/- of negative four. But Kuhnhackl has a knack for coming up in big moments and knows what it takes to win, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.

If Trotz had faith in him to start him over the likes of Leo Komarov, Johnston, and Michael Dal Colle, then we should too. Despite only registering one assist in the three games he played, the german forward had one of the biggest assists of the series and a beautiful one at that during Game 2.

This play put the Islanders back even with the Panthers a little less than halfway through the second period in what would turn into a 4-2 victory.

Kuhnhackl is a player that does the little things to impact the scoreboard. While his playing time per game was short, averaging at 9:20 (career-low in playoffs), he did what he had to do to help the team win.

Trotz, after seeing his penalty kill struggle mightily through the first three games (66.7%), he decided that he needed to make a change for Game 4.

And that change was putting Leo Komarov on the third line, as his defensive instincts could be beneficial. After taking a puck to the face during a Phase Two practice, we saw him rocking the full cage in the game.

We also saw him rock some opposing players, as he registered five hits, two blocks, helping the Islanders kill off four of their five penalties. Again, like many Islanders, Komarov is a player that does not impact the scoreboard with the puck on his stick.

Against a tough team in either the Boston Bruins or Washington Capitals, which will be determined on Sunday (winner of that game), the penalty kill will need to be on its game. And if Komarov truly impacted the penalty kill, which it looked like he did, he will find himself in the lineup for next series.

Concluding Thoughts

Barry Trotz is the coach for a reason. Now during the regular season, he admitted that he may have overcoached his players, leading to the mediocracy we fans witnessed during 68 games. But in the playoffs, Trotz knew what he was doing. His defensive system was highly impressive throughout this series, and the lines and matchups he put together worked wonders.

There could be more changes coming in the next round, as Trotz dives into their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. I expect that if the Capitals are the opponents, we will be seeing Johnston in there on that third line, but if it’s the Bruins more likely Komarov. Boychuk is feeling better says Trotz, which means he may try to work him in there, meaning someone would have to come out of the lineup, never an easy decision with how well the defense played.

As we wait to see, Trotz and his coaching staff will do what they can to come up with a suitable gameplan and lineup, in order to have this team playing the best they can as the opponents get significantly harder.