Barry Trotz's decisions pay off in Game 1
Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello speaks with the media at Northwell Health Ice Center as the Islanders wrapped up their season on May 6, 2019. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Barry Trotz’s lineup decisions paid off extremely well in the Islanders’ 4-0 Game 1 win over the Flyers on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
He kept both burly Ross Johnston and agitating Leo Komarov in the lineup, placing them on third-line center Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s wings. Komarov and Johnston’s forecheck led to Pageau’s third-period goal and Johnston had a game-high 10 hits.
“Those two guys bring their 110% every day, every night, every practice day,” Pageau said.
Derick Brassard remained a healthy scratch and Michael Dal Colle came out of the lineup with Cal Clutterbuck returning to the fourth line after a one-game absence because of an undisclosed injury. Dal Colle played effectively on Pageau’s line in Game 5 against the Capitals.
Trotz lauds Lamoriello
Trotz has been an NHL coach since 1998. But he says he has learned “a lot” from Lou Lamoriello, who hired him a month after taking over as the Islanders’ president on May 22, 2018.
“I think the biggest thing with Lou is he doesn’t let the emotions get in the way,” Trotz said. “He understands the emotions of a coach after a game, winning and losing. I think he has a really good sense of that because he’s coached [at Providence College and interim stints with the Devils]. A lot of organizations, you have people who have not coached and they forget about those emotions.”
Selling well
The Islanders reported that ticket demand remains high for their new UBS Arena at Belmont Park, set to open for the 2021-22 season. The team said 20% of season tickets remain available and that more than one-third of the suites were sold during the last two weeks.
“The support from our loyal Islanders fans across the metro New York region has been tremendous,” co-owner Jon Ledecky said in a statement.
Zero positives
For a fourth straight week, the NHL reported zero positive COVID-19 results in the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles after administering 4,644 tests last week.
Isles files
Clutterbuck logged 13:29 and twice went to the bench in pain, once after blocking a shot and once after a hard check . . . Defenseman Nick Leddy had a second-period shift that lasted 3 minutes, 10 seconds . . . Forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel logged 15:06 for the Flyers as he returned from a one-game absence because of a lower-body issue. That made James van Riemsdyk a healthy scratch.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
