Barry Trotz Should Keep Josh Bailey off the First Line
Josh Bailey has had an up-and-down season. There have been multiple games where Bailey had the opportunity to score a game-changing goal but did not get a shot off. But, in his past five games, Bailey has turned into an offensive powerhouse. In order for him to continue his hot-streak, Islanders’ head coach Barry Trotz needs to keep Bailey off the first line.
Rough First Half
In his first 44 games, Bailey was primarily playing on the Islanders’ top-line with Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee. He recorded 23 points (3-20—23) and nearly all of them were assists. With 42 shots, Bailey averaged less than one shot on goal per game — which is unacceptable for someone with an average ice time of 17:16 per night.
While Trotz did not seem bothered by Bailey’s performance, fans definitely were. Social media was riddled with comments about how Bailey needs to be traded or benched, and fans were booing him at UBS Arena.
Not one of these plays were shots on goal. #Isles pic.twitter.com/1y4NREKRZs
— Drive4Five (@Drive4Five_) March 8, 2022
Recent Hot Streak
Trotz recently had to change the lineup when Barzal went down with a lower-body injury. At first, Bailey remained on the first line but had new line-mates — Brock Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier. However, Trotz then bumped Bailey down to the second line with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Kyle Palmieri and that line has been unstoppable ever since.
In his past five games, Bailey has been on fire. He has scored three goals (matching his total in his first 44 games), notched four assists and has been a +6. He also has registered 11 shots on goal, averaging 2.2 shots per game — over double his season-average. Because he is now on the second line, Bailey’s average ice time has dropped to 14:26 in his last five games — nearly three minutes less than when he was on the top-line.
Maximizing Bailey’s Potential
Trotz may have liked the Lee-Barzal-Bailey line, but the statistics show it was not bringing out the best in the three forwards. However, the new second line of Bailey-Pageau-Palmieri has been nothing short of incredible. All three players have a four-game point streak since the line was put together on March 10.
If Trotz wants to continue to have a successful offense, he should keep Bailey in the middle-six with reduced minutes and line-mates he has chemistry with.
I am a huge Islanders fan and love spreading my passion for the team here at Drive4Five. Along with writing, I also co-manage the Drive4Five TikTok and Facebook accounts.
