The Islanders have enjoyed a much needed trio of days off before they hit the ice in Boston today at 1pm (MSG+). Ravaged by injuries, and having played 10 games in 21 days, including eight on the road, the team will not get much of a break as their next five opponents are all in playoff positions, and four of those games will be on the road once again.
With Jaroslav Halak all but out for the remainder of the regular season, and likely into the second round of the playoffs, if not beyond, Thomas Greiss has the burden of lifting the Islanders back into the playoffs. Much has been written about Halak’s injury and Greiss’ performance this season, so there’s not much more left to analyze about the pair. However, with a condensed schedule to finish the season, rookie Jean-Francois Berube will also need to shoulder a good deal of the load.
While he has performed admirably in his two starts this season, they came months apart and the French-Canadian has to prove himself on a more regular basis. Greiss, as a career backup, has never experienced the amount of work he is about to at the NHL level, and he has already surpassed his career-high in games, so it’s unreasonable to expect him to go on a Martin Brodeur-esque run of consecutive games to finish the season.
With four back-to-back games in the remaining 12, it’s likely that Berube will see, at the bare minimum, four starts. We already know how Greiss has performed this season. The organization and its fans will watch anxiously as the rookie doubles his season workload to finish out the year. Look for him to get a start on Monday or Tuesday when the Islanders play the Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins.
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Mark Weiner sat down with Ryan Pulock for an insightful Q&A with the rookie
Newest Islanders forward Shane Prince acts like his namesake off the ice
Injured Islanders and began skating again, but
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