After four straight wins, the drive for five ended once again with two straight losses to the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. The Islanders have had their bright spots over this stretch and have seen their flaws. However, there is one player who has been very consistent and is making a strong case for being on this team next season as the backup goaltender, Yann Danis.
Since Joey MacDonald was injured on January 13th versus the New York Rangers, Yann Danis has stepped in and played every game since. Over the course of nine games, Danis has posted a wonderful 1.88 GAA and a .943 save percentage. This is behind an Islanders defense that consists of Brenden Witt, Bruno Gervais, Jack Hillen, Radek Martinek, Chris Campoli, and Joe Callahan.
This defense is without some of its leaders including, Mark Streit, Andy Sutton, and Freddy Meyer. However, Yann Danis has taken it upon himself to not let this be a problem. Many people will argue that his stats on the season (4-6-1, .918 save percentage, and 2.69 GAA), are what he should be judged by, however, even his stats on the season aren’t bad on a lowly Islanders team.
I am not trying to say that Yann Danis is becoming one of the greatest goalies in the entire league, but am trying to make the point that he seems to be making a case for a consistent spot on the roster. Now that he has taken the majority of the work load on his shoulder for this stretch, he seems to be making the best of it and gradually improving each game.
If I am the manager of the New York Islanders, I would seriously be considering signing Yann Danis as the backup next year. However, the season is long and things change. Only time will tell.