After a disappointing season on the defensive end where the Islanders saw the puck go in their net 255 times, general manager Garth Snow addressed one of the team's biggest needs in the offseason: The blue line.
The poor play of Al Montoya and Rick DiPietro, combined with the defensive liabilities of Milan Jurcina, Steve Staios and some inexperienced mistakes is what doomed the Islanders in their own end.
But with a revamped defensive core that will now include Matt Carkner, a couple of prospects and maybe Lubomir Visnovsky, the Islanders should do a better job of helping out Evgeni Nabokov, who did a fine job goaltending last season.
First Pairing
Mark Streit and Andrew MacDonald
Pairing an aging, offensive-minded defenseman with a spry two-way defenseman seems like the way to go for the first pairing instead of placing two players over 34-years-old together.
MacDonald's great defense will help Streit get opportunities to move the puck out to guys like John Tavares and Matt Moulson.
These two guys will make an ideal top pair.
Second Pairing
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Article written by Michael DeSantis
New York Islanders: Predictions on How the Blue Line Will Look
August 11th, 2012 by Michael DeSantis Leave a reply »
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