New York Islanders: 3 things the Isles need to keep doing to make the playoffs
Keeping Josh Bailey elite.
Josh Bailey has gone from looking like another classic Islanders first round draft bust to a star seemingly over night last season and into this one.
However, he is a great NHL player now and his value is finally being shown.
It is hard to pinpoint where exactly this burst of production came from. After all, he has been on the Isles for like a decade now.
Related Story. Islanders' first three stars from the first 15 games. light
Right now, at the time of this writing, he is almost a point per game scorer. “Bails” has 21 points in 23 games that the Isles have had.
That is a special kind of production.
It becomes even better when you look at Mathew Barzal who has 20 points in the same amount of games.
It is so great to have a line like whichever one Josh Bailey is on, constant production.
However, Bailey is a veteran. He has been here when the Islanders are good and when they have been terrible. It is nice, nay, imperative, to have a player like him producing.
The Isles don’t have that superstar player right now who scored an insane amount of points or sets a blistering pace for points in the season.
That is just not their identity right now.
Keeping Josh Bailey productive is sort of out of their control, but will still make or break their season.
Barry Trotz changes his lines almost all the time, there has been a turnaround already this season, like Anthony Beauvillier, for example, of guys moving lines.
However, if the Islanders want to make the playoffs, they must get Josh Bailey’s right every game.
The Islanders cannot keep getting by, by simply being deep and getting random great games from bottom liners.
They are going to keep playing teams who are just as deep, and have even more star power.
As long as Josh Bailey keeps being productive, and can help the Islanders generate something every game, he will keep them in it for a while.
Josh Bailey might make another All-Star team, but that is nothing compared to being the best player on a playoff team.
Barzal is close to taking over this role, but right now, the Islanders need the veteran Bailey to stay hot to stay afloat.