2013-2014 Season
Ryan Strome and Calvin de Haan have made the team out of training camp. Strome will start the season as the right winger on the second line, and de Haan will patrol the blueline with Matt Carkner, on the team's third paring. Braden Holtby will get the start on opening night.
Lineup:
Matt Moulson - John Tavares - Kyle Okposo (ice time 21)
Michael Grabner - Frans Nielsen - Ryan Strome (ice time 18)
Josh Bailey - Brock Nelson - Colin McDonald (ice time 14)
Matt Martin - Casey Czikas - Eric Boulton (ice time 7)
Lubomir Vishnovsky - Erik Johnson (ice time 24)
Andrew MacDonald - Travis Hamonic (ice time (20)
Calvin de Haan - Matt Carkner (ice time 16)
Braden Holtby - Evgeny Nabokov
Scratched: Matt Donovan
Captain: John Tavares
Assistants: Andrew MacDonald, Kyle Okposo
Owner's Objective for the Season: be in the playoff race
Opening Night
Game one was a disappointment as the Islanders dropped a 6-1 decision in Jersey. Holtby obviously had the jitters in his first game as he allowed all 6 goals on only 27 shots. Fortunately, things got much better as the month went on.
With an 8-3-1 record, the Islanders sit in 2nd place in the Metro Division and 4th place in the Eastern Conference.
The early season surprise performance belongs to Ryan Strome as the rookie posted 10 points in 12 games. Speedster Michael Grabner also raced out of the gates, and it will be interesting to watch his performance this season. Grabner is a very skilled player but he's had more than one coach question his work ethic
And despite the awful performance in game 1, Braden Holtby rebounded nicely and went undefeated for the rest of the month
Looking ahead, the team remains optimistic about making the playoffs but two tough decisions lay ahead in deciding the futures of pending UFAs Matt Moulson and Andrew MacDonald.
Contract extension talks have already begun with Moulson and rumours suggest that his asking price is in excess of $5.5 million over 5 years. MacDonald's demands are much more reasonable - management expects to have him re-signed in the next few weeks.