ELMONT, NY — The last time Lane Lambert was a head coach, pacing behind the bench of the AHL Milwaukee Admirals in 2010-11, he had a young defenseman by the name of Roman JosiAssisting on the blue line. Josi, of course, blossomed into one of the NHL’s best players; he had a ludicrous 96 points in 80 games last season for the Nashville Predators.
In Lambert’s first game as the Islanders’ head coach Thursday against the Panthers, a 3-1 loss at UBS Arena, he didn’t have the luxury of deploying someone of Josi’s ilk. The Islanders’ blue line should still be a strength, with players such as Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock Noah DobsonWhile it can take up much of the time, the team’s success depends on the whole blue line contributing to the team in different ways.
Really, the only difference in the Islanders’ roster when compared with last season’s team is its defense. Andy Greene and Zdeno Chara, who were both over-the-hill and slow to react, are now gone. The hard-hitting are in Alexander RomanovAnd the puck-moving
