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Islanders Insight Top Shelf: 10/14/15

Submitted by Islanders Insight on Wed, 10/14/2015 - 08:15

skates against the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center on October 9, 2015 in Brooklyn borough of New York City. The game is the first for the Islanders in their new arena. The Blackhawks defeated the Islanders 3-2 in overtime.

Why won’t Jack Capuano put Ryan Pulock in the lineup over Brian Strait?

Islanders’ fans everywhere have asked the question above and the answer is simple. Which right-handed shot defenseman should play the left side?

And if you slide one of Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic or Marek Zidlicky to the left side, the negatives could disrupt the entire defensive unit.

Something that I brought up when the Islanders signed Marek Zidlicky was that a left-handed shot blueliner would have been a better fit. However, at the beginning of a season, NHL quality defensemen are rarely available, or have some red flags that make them unattractive.

In news, Hickey likely 2 weeks away, Halak maybe Saturday. Have heard of no setbacks as of tonight.

— Andy Graziano (@tazman19)

With the report above about Thomas Hickey from Andy Graziano, Jack Capuano will keep using Brian Strait in the lineup until Hickey returns. Strait and Zidlicky are not the perfect match of skill sets on the third pairing but at the present time the situation is what it is.

Meanwhile, last night the Bridgeport Sound Tigers won their third game of the season and Ryan Pulock had an assist. If Pulock cannot earn consistent playing time at the NHL, at least he is getting plenty of minutes in the American Hockey League.