New York Islanders Winner and Losers from Opening Week

Oct 16, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; New York Islanders right wing Josh Bailey (12) celebrates scoring the game winning goal in overtime against the Anaheim Ducks at Barclays Center. New York Islanders won 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Islanders started the 2016-17 season this past week. It was the culmination of four months of nothing, but finally, we have meaningful hockey. No, the World Cup wasn’t meaningful.

The New York Islanders opened the 2016-17 NHL season by going 1-2-0 in the first week. Dropping points to the Rangers and Capitals before finally getting a ‘W’ at home in overtime against the now 0-3-0 Anaheim Ducks thanks to a Josh Bailey wonder goal.

That right, Josh Bailey. Not only did he score, but it was an absolute beauty. Sorry, Bailey haters. But what Bailey did on that 3-on-3 OT was amazing. You might not like him on most nights. But in the home opener, he was the hero. Even though John Tavares got first-star honors.

The Barclays faithful got to witness something pretty special in the home opener, it’s just a shame that most of them didn’t show up to witness it.

Last season’s home opener was a sellout crowd. This year it looked like a good portion of the crowd decided to stay at home.

Whether it be because of sub-par public transportation, an inconveniently scheduled NY Giants game, or everyone was still stuck in traffic, but the Barclays looked empty. Thankfully those in attendance were loud enough to at least make it sound full.

So with three games in the books let’s overreact, at least a little bit, and decide who are the winners and loser for the New York Islanders from this week’s round of games.

Mar 15, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New York Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey (14) react to linesman Derek Nansen (70) after being penalized against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins won 2-1 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Losers: Referees

On two sperate occasions, John Tavares has had his hands slashed. And on both occasions, the offending player received no penalty.

We all know winter is coming. We’ve all seen Game of Thrones. But the insistence that players use their sticks like lumberjacks against anyone needs to stop.

I rarely call for self-policing in the NHL. I don’t think fighting has a place in today’s game. But when officiating is absent and a player is being targetted like Tavares is, perhaps some extra-curricular attention is required.

Referees are empowered to make the types of calls that would otherwise disincentivize this type of activity. But it’s been twice now. Take notice referees.

Like one of the Eyes on Isles writers said in our inter-staff emails, our captain and star is likely injured because of these unpunished infractions.

So to all the refs out there undoubtedly reading this: You, referees, have a duty to spot this and stamp it out. We all know that you can’t see everything all the time. But there are four of you out there. Sticks should remain at ice level no matter the circumstance. You’ve been given the power to punish slashing when it occurs, now ensure you do so.

Winner: Josh Bailey

The man everyone loves to hate, Josh Bailey, has actually played rather well through three games. The thing with Bailey is everyone expects him to be an offensive force due to his first round draft status, and since he isn’t many look at him as a bust.

I hate to break it to you but there is more to the game of hockey than just scoring goals. You have to prevent the other team from scoring, which Josh Bailey has established himself as one of the better defensive forwards on the team.

With Frans Nielsen gone, it’s going to take a team effort to replace everything Nielsen did for this team defensively.

It’s his offense that has been most impressive. Through three games he has two points. You can make the argument that he’s looked the best out of the forward group. He even played the hero on Sunday night with this sweet overtime goal.

Winner winner chicken dinner! JOSH BAILEY #Isles pic.twitter.com/TkUNWwxjuI

— Eyes on Isles (@eyesonislesFS) October 17, 2016

Is it dumb to have Bailey on the top line? Yes, but if you look at him for what he is, a bottom six forward he serves his purpose. You can get frustrated with how the Islanders use Josh Bailey but openly hating on the guy just to continue the narrative is naïve.

Oct 16, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; New York Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak (41) during the third period against Anaheim Ducks at Barclays Center. New York Islanders won 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Loser: Jaroslav Halak

Jaroslav Halak played really in the world cup of hockey. He was the starter for Team Europe as they surprised some people in the tournament. Through two starts Halak has let in some soft goals.

His first start against the Rangers he played well through two periods. He allowed two goals, but he was bailing out the Islanders to keep them in the game.

They ended up getting two more off him; one on a bit of a breakaway and the other was on the Rangers power play. Four goals doesn’t tell the entire story he didn’t play that bad.

It was his second start that got to me. Jaro let in two soft goals when he could have kept the game on lockdown. Right after the Islanders went up by two goals he allowed a soft one not even a minute later. Then in the final minute, with the Ducks goalie on the bench he allowed another soft one.

Soft goals are going to happen but if he wants to continue to get starts he has to play well. Thomas Greiss looked better in his start than Jaro has looked.

Ultimately I think Halak is the better of the two, but he’s got to prove that. You would think with his play in the world cup he would be all warmed up and ready to go for the season, instead he looks rusty.

Oct 15, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; New York Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss (1) makes a save on Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom (19) in the third period at Verizon Center. The Capitals won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Thomas Greiss

Sure, he was in net for the Isles second loss in a row, but Thomas Griess looked fantastic between the pipes against the Washington Capitals. He stopped 26 of 28 shots and earned himself a third start for his efforts.

He might be the number two right now for the Islanders, but he’s showing what we all saw at the tail end of last year wasn’t necessarily a fluke. Coming out of the World Cup Halak was the defacto number one. Backstopping an unheralded Team Europe into the finals of the NHLs cash grab tourney ensured him that much.

After all of Griess’ hard work in 2015-16, he was going to have to start all over again and prove that he’s more than a backup. Against the Capitals, he proved just that. His .928 SV% on the night kept the score a lot closer than in could have been.

The New York Islanders goaltending setup right now is very much starter/backup…and extra backup. But Greiss is again forcing the Isles to consider changing that setup to a 1(a)/1(b)…and extra backup. Honestly, what do you call JF Berube? Injury coverage? Press Box shot stopper?

Jaroslav Halak might not like having to share the crease with Greiss, but for Isles fans it’s fantastic. To be fair Halak has been in this situation almost his entire career. First battling with Carey Price for starts and then with Brian Elliot in St. Louis.

But this goaltending dual should keep both competitive. They know, a bad performance might mean the other guys going to get the start.

Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Mathew Barzal poses with team executives after being selected as the number sixteen overall pick to the New York Islanders in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Loser: Mathew Barzal

Are we really going to crucify him for one game? Yup. Absolutely. OK, Crucify is a bit strong. Are we going to cast negativity on a player after a single game? Yes.

What Mathew Barzal did against the Washington Capitals was stupifying. In what world did he think he was in, where he could play the puck from within the box? Certainly not this one. And that’s just it. Like I explained in a previous post. The occasion clearly got to Barzal.

Sure, he’s a 19-year-old kid with the expectation of an entire fanbase on his shoulders playing in his first NHL game. That’s a ton of pressure. And these kids are going to be perfect.

Look, even Auston Matthews is catching some scruff. All he did was score four goals on his first NHL game, but he was guilty of poor offensive zone coverage in OT, allowing Kyle Turris to score and handing the Leafs a big ‘L’.

Barzal’s mistake was bad. Like worse than being the cause of a goal bad. It’s one thing to get caught up in the play or failing to track your man in overtime. But forgetting the rules of the game shows mental fragility. At least for the time being.

This slip up was a teachable moment. It’s a moment that Barzal will certainly never forget, social media is going to help him remember for years to come. Because of that, he’ll be able to use that to get himself focused in the future. He might be a loser now, but hopefully, this is a one-off type of action.