Doug Weight was non-committal about how long they will last, but the Islanders coach rolled out a new top two lines Saturday.
It was a simple tweak — flipping Anthony Beauvillier to the first line for Anders Lee — but Weight said he liked the early results.
“I think it was Leesy’s best game in a couple weeks,” Weight said. “I thought Johnny [Tavares’] line created a lot, I thought Beau was excellent. … It’s fresh blood and they’re all good players.”
Each line — the top trio of Beauvillier, Tavares and Josh Bailey and the second unit of Lee, Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle — teamed up for a goal and two assists in the 4-3 win over the Blue Jackets.
Saturday was Pride Night at Barclays Center, part of the NHL’s commitment to diversity and inclusion through You Can Play and the LGBT Network.
There are no openly gay players in the NHL, but the league has been at the forefront of professional sports in promoting inclusion.
“I definitely wouldn’t have a problem with [a gay player],” said center Casey Cizikas, who was tabbed as the club’s ambassador for the night. “We’re a tight-knit group and the entire hockey community would stand behind that person.”
Eberle agreed.
“If you’re good enough to play wherever it is — whether it’s the NHL or any sport or do anything — if you’re good enough to be there, there’s no difference of your sexuality or whatever it is,” Eberle said. “It shouldn’t matter.”
Johnny Boychuk missed a 16th straight game with an upper-body injury. The veteran defenseman skated in the morning with the team, but still was unable to go.
“I’m frustrated because I want Johnny to play, but it’s not about trying to not let you know what the heck’s going on,” Weight said. “I just don’t know what’s going on. A lot of it, in this situation, is going to be up to Johnny. He’s a tough kid. He wants to play and it’s eating him up, but gotta make sure he’s ready.”
Forward Nikolay Kulemin, who underwent shoulder surgery in November and was expected to be out for six months, continued to skate before the Islanders’ morning skate Saturday. Weight wanted to be cautious talking about a timetable for Kulemin’s recovery, but said he seems to be ahead of schedule.
“He’s here every day and he’s been on the ice now for close to a couple weeks really working,” Weight said. “It looks like he’s shooting the puck pretty well. It would be nice sooner than later for him. It’s not a guy that probably on the outside people think a lot about, but he’s a glue guy. He’s there, he’s got good feet, he’s uber smart, plays the game the right way and we’ve missed him.”
Nick Leddy’s power-play strike in the first period was his first goal since Nov. 24, getting the monkey off his back after 30 straight games without one.