Islanders could shuffle lines against Lightning in Game 5 of East Final

The New York Islanders could shuffle forward lines with their season on the line against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).

Their top line of Mathew Barzal, Anders Lee and Jordan Eberle has struggled, a big reason New York faces elimination in Game 5 of the best-of-7 series.
None of the three forwards had a point in Game 4, a 4-1 loss in Edmonton, the hub city for the conference finals and the Stanley Cup Final, on Sunday. Barzal and Lee each has gone five straight games without a goal; Eberle's goal in Game 1 is his only one in the past 15 games.
RELATED: [Complete Lightning vs. Islanders series coverage]
"They're proud athletes," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "I mean, any athlete that considers themselves a really good player or a line that considers themselves a really good line, when they're not having the success that they'd like, it weighs on them. They put a lot of pressure on themselves. The fans will put pressure on them, [the media] will put pressure on them. It's something that you have to deal with.
"I just said [to them], one of the things you have to understand is that you've got to sometimes just outplay whoever you're out against. It doesn't mean you have to outscore them, you just have to outplay them or play even. Sometimes when you think that you have to outscore them, you get yourself on the wrong side and you end up cheating. Just play the right way shift in and shift out, and you usually get results."
The lack of production has been magnified by the play of Lightning forwards Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat. Kucherov, who scored the winning goal with nine seconds left in the third period of a 2-1 victory for Tampa Bay in Game 2, has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in the series. Point was unfit to play Game 3 but has seven points (three goals, four assists) in three games. Palat has scored three goals.
"We'd love to be producing more than we have, and we understand that it's a big part of our team's lineup, is everyone's got to chip in in some form or fashion," Lee said. "I think our line had produced, has been producing, and it's been a little dry of late, so just finding those little opportunities. I don't think they're coming on as frequently as we would like as a line, and that's expected.
"You get this far, these teams are … you know, Tampa's doing a really good job of limiting us, but the few that we get, it's finding a way to put the puck in the net."

Barzal has had chemistry with forward Anthony Beauvillier in the past, but the line of Beauvillier, Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey has arguably been the Islanders' most consistent this postseason, combining to score 52 points (20 goals, 32 assists) in 20 games. Trotz could simply swap Barzal and Nelson, or he could try something more drastic. With center Casey Cizikas unfit to play, Jean-Gabriel Pageau moved into his spot with Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck for Games 3 and 4. It was announced Sunday that Cizikas and forward Tom Kuhnhackl have left the Edmonton bubble because of injury.
As part of the NHL Return to Play Plan, a team is not permitted to disclose player injury or illness information.
"We're considering that, for sure," Trotz said of potential changes. "One of the things they have to understand too, and this is part of growth of a young player, and even that line, there's times when if it's not going your way, then there's so many other ways that you can contribute, just in the details and the focus that you have to play with."
This is the second time the Islanders are facing elimination this postseason; they blew a 3-1 series lead against the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round but recovered for a 4-0 win in Game 7 on Sept. 5.
Since the conference format was adopted for the 1981-82 season, teams that trail 3-1 in the conference final are 1-34 (2.9 percent). They are 29-288 (9.1 percent) winning any best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series, including 0-10 in the first two rounds this season.
"We're not going to go away lightly here," Barzal said. "Personally, this is exactly where I want to be and exactly where we want to be; maybe not down 3-1, but in the Eastern Conference Finals. What an opportunity for our group. … We're going to come out swinging tomorrow and give it our best. Our backs are against the wall, so all we can do now is put our best on the ice and hopefully get this thing to a Game 6 and then a Game 7."