Thomas Greiss is looking calm as he takes over Islanders’ No. 1 goalie spot
New York Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss makes a save against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Credit: AP / DARRYL DYCK
Thomas Greiss has never been designated a No. 1 goaltender in the NHL before. His playoff resume consists of 40 minutes of mop-up duty. But the 30-year-old Greiss has been the most consistent goaltender for the Islanders this season, and with Jaroslav Halak out for six to eight weeks with what appears to be a severe groin injury, Greiss now is the man heading into what could be a first-round playoff series against the Rangers.
No one knows how Greiss, with his fourth NHL team, will react to being the new No. 1.
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Thomas Greiss has never been designated a No. 1 goaltender in the NHL before. His playoff resume consists of 40 minutes of mop-up duty. But the 30-year-old Greiss has been the most consistent goaltender for the Islanders this season, and with Jaroslav Halak out for six to eight weeks with what appears to be a severe groin injury, Greiss now is the man heading into what could be a first-round playoff series against the Rangers.
No one knows how Greiss, with his fourth NHL team, will react to being the new No. 1.
He made 32 saves and three in the shootout to help the Isles earn a point in a 4-3 loss to the Maple Leafs on Wednesday night, a game he was going to start regardless of Halak’s health after Halak started Tuesday night against the Penguins.
It also was a subpar game from the rest of Greiss’ teammates in the Islanders’ eighth road game in the past nine. So perhaps it was not the most representative example of how Greiss will take to being the starter.
If you go by the big German’s demeanor — unflappable is the word that comes to mind — then he will continue to be the same dependable guy he’s been since Garth Snow snagged him to be Halak’s backup in the opening hour of free agency on July 1.
He’s tied for the NHL lead with a .929 save percentage in his 27 starts, seven more than he’s made in any of his other six seasons.
“You can’t overthink it or blow it up too much,” Greiss said after Wednesday night’s loss. “It’s still hockey at the end of the day. You play your game, everything will fall into place.”
It’s that attitude that made Greiss a good foil for Halak, the intense, self-critical goaltender who set a franchise record with 38 wins last season.
But Halak, with his 200 career wins and his 28 career postseason starts, could be out for as long as eight weeks. That would go into early May, which is the second round of the playoffs. It’s hard to imagine a goaltender coming in after two months away to propel the team onward.
“It looked bad, but I was hoping it wasn’t so serious,” Greiss said.
Beyond Greiss, the Islanders have had 24-year-old J-F Berube around almost all season even though the young goaltender has played only twice. Halak had squawked a bit last month about the wisdom of having three goaltenders around, saying “it can be hard to get your work in” with three goaltenders sharing two nets, but now Garth Snow looks prescient for hanging on to Berube.
“I think Thomas, knowing him, will embrace the challenge,” coach Jack Capuano said. “I think J-F is champing as well to get in there and play well, like he did the first game after the [All-Star] break.”
On Saturday in Boston, Greiss will take the reins with 17 games left in the regular season. “Obviously, you’re going to think about it a little bit,” he said. “But you can’t worry. The season has been going pretty well so far. You can’t overthink the whole thing.”