Back up the Backup!!!

Coming off a Career worst Season in 2017-18, Thomas Greiss looks for a Bounce back season, But will Islander fans stand for it?

After coming off a Brilliant performance in the Form of a 45 out of 46 save win in the Season opener in Raleigh against The Hurricanes in an Overtime, Thomas Greiss faced a Really good, if not Great Nashville Predators team and allowed 4 Goals. The First goal allowed was a Brilliant goal with a Brilliant move by Victor Arvidsson, The 2nd Goal allowed was a bad one and I'll admit that, but the Final 2 Goals allowed by Thomas Greiss were goals that he couldn't help, 3rd Goal he was Screened by his own defenseman and the 4th goal was lack of a defensive checking in the Isles zone. Overall, Not a great performance from the German Netminder, Stopping 19 out of 23 Shots.

Thomas Greiss has only played 2 games this season....2 Games and Isles fans want him gone without giving him a fair chance! Greiss is a Solid ***BACKUP*** Goaltender. 

in 2015-16, He did a Brilliant Job in 2015-16 as the Backup to Jaro Halak with a 23-11-4 Record with a 2.36 Goals Against and a .926 Save Percentage. When Halak went down with a Groin injury, Greiss took over as the Starter and help the Islanders get to the Playoffs. Greiss was so good for the Isles in the Playoffs, that Greiss himself and He who shall not be named (Tavares) helped take the Islanders to the 2nd round of the NHL Playoffs for the First time since 1993, a 23 year Playoff Series win Drought!

In 2016-17, Jaro Halak was waived and sent down to Bridgeport which forced Thomas Greiss into the #1 and had what you can say a Career best year (Record Wise in regards to wins) going 26-18-5 with a 2.68 Goals Against and a .913 Save Percentage. Towards the end of the year though, Greiss was starting to show signs of Fatigue after being used so frequently which was something he wasn't used to at all. At the Tail end of the Season, Jaro Halak was called up from Bridgeport at took over the Starting Goaltending position and despite Jaro coming up and having a Lights out performance for the Final weeks of the Season, the Isles missed the Playoffs by 1 Point.

In 2017-18, Greiss had the most Miserable year of his NHL Career. He did win half of his games with a 13-8-2 record with a 3.82 Goals against, but he was overall miserable and the horrific defense which allowed 40+ shots a game didn't help either. Greiss was the Backup Goaltender to Jaro Halak, but the year was not pleasant to Thomas Greiss at all. He did have some good games, but they were quickly layered by Very bad games! Greiss had one of, if not THE Worst Save Percentage in the NHL in the form of an .892 Save Percentage and arguably the worst Goaltender in the NHL. But that didn't stop him for committing to playing each and every time his number was called. Greiss suffered a Lower-Body Injury that sidelined him for about 6 weeks. 

This season though, He has a Well-Respected Goaltending Coach, Now the Director of Goaltending for the Islanders, Mitch Korn. Korn most likely has a Series of activities and workouts planned for his goaltenders. With Piero Greco on Day-to-Day duties as the Goaltending Coach, Expectations are high for both Goaltenders. One thing is needed though, that is time....A Goaltender doesn't change at a flip of the switch, it takes time.

I remember listening to an Islanders game on the Radio this season, and an Interview with Head Coach, Barry Trotz, Who I believe stated that it took Holtby 20 games to get used to Korn's Regime and The message Korn was trying to send to him. I don't remember the Interview word-for-word, but Patience was definitely a key factor when it came to Goaltenders under Mitch Korn.

Thomas Greiss 100% Deserves a chance to have a Bounce back season. Fans want him to be released and/or sent to Bridgeport after only a 2 game performance with a 3rd game for Thomas Greiss coming tonight against the Anaheim Ducks in Anaheim. 

My Prediction for Thomas Greiss is that he has a Bounce back season, Not All-Star Caliber, but a Bounce back season that is lightyears better than last season. If that means he has a Career Average season, which is a 2.68 Goals against with a .913 Save Percentage, I'll gladly Take that as a Bounce back season for him. 

Isles fans will claim that whenever Thomas Greiss starts, It's an Automatic loss waiting to happen, that he sucks and that he should be released. Mind you, Greiss has only played 2 games this year! A Goaltender can NOT Be Judged by Just 2 games that he's played, especially after a Brilliant Performance one night and a "ehh" performance the next.  

Lamoriello, Trotz, Greco and Korn all have Faith in Thomas Greiss and you'd think that the fans would believe in them, but the way they are sounding, They make themselves sound like they know more than the Cup Winning Staff that Malkin signed. 

You'd think the Majority of isles fans who go by the Saying "In Lou We Trust" will give the Coaches or Even the Players a chance, but I guess not and fans know all, right?

If fans did know best, how come they don't get Jobs as NHL Executives or as Coaches or play the game and Compete at the NHL Level?

Do they Just want to Complain behind a Keyboard or Just make their Voice heard by making signs, booing or voicing Frustrations over social media because they may be season ticket holders?

Newsflash, Team Owners and executives don't care what fans think at all! Owners and Executives will do what THEY Feel is best for the Business, Not what fans feel is best!

How this Relates to Thomas Greiss? The Team, Executives and Coaches feel Thomas Greiss can help the team compete and won't listen to bickering fans who think they know better than the Front office staff or Coaching Staff who see and work with him everyday!

In Conclusion, Thomas Greiss needs to be given a fair chance and 2-3 games isn't a fair chance....15-20 Games is a Fair chance. A Determination can be made after that!

So to the fans that think they know better than a Cup Winning HOF General Manager and Cup Winning Coaches, You want to avoid the "What have you done for me" approach and see things through the Coaches eyes as well as the Executives!

Give Thomas Griess a Chance and Backup your teams Backup!

Until the Next Blog,

LETS GO ISLANDERS!!!