The Islanders missed an opportunity to give Cory Schneider a spot start over the weekend.

On Sunday, the Islanders lost to the 9-33-7 Montreal Canadiens in the shootout. A major story of that game was Andrew Hammond making his first start in nearly four years.

Hammond, or “Hamburgler” as Ottawa Senators’ fans called him, was a relatively unknown goaltender who went on an unprecedented run during the 2014-2015 season. He single-handedly dragged a struggling Senators’ team into the playoffs, posting a 20-1-2 through the remainder of the season.

The Islanders are at a point in their season where they could use anything just to build momentum. The team seems complacent with losing. Luckily, the team has a former William M. Jennings Trophy-winning goalie on its roster that could’ve perhaps given the team a spark: Schneider.

There have been numerous examples of older and/or unproven goaltenders getting a chance in net for a struggling team. The most recent example that comes to mind is Buffalo Sabres goaltender Craig Anderson. He is on the downswing of his career and hasn’t been a regular starter since the 2018-19 season. He joined a lowly Sabres’ team that seemed to be entering yet another rebuild with the departure of captain Jack Eichel. However, despite all this adversity, he started the season 6-3-0.

The Islanders, at the very least, should’ve given a veteran goaltender like Schneider one start. Now, that opportunity is gone, as Semyon Varlamov is back after contracting COVID-19. The worst case scenario would’ve been that the team lost, which it did anyway. At this point in a season as bad as this, was there really anything to lose?

John Smark