[sureLoss]

Jim Matheson speculates the Isles may trade for a goalie with Halak out.

http://edmontonjournal.com/sports/ho...-halak-injured

With starting goalie Jaroslav Halak out until late April or longer with a groin problem and only longtime backup Thomas Greiss to mind the store with a race to stay in playoff contention, I wonder if New York Islanders general manager Garth Snow, a former goalie himself, will do what counterpart Peter Chiarelli did four years ago with the Boston Bruins?

Chiarelli was forced to make a move after the trade deadline had come and gone because Bruins starter Tuukka Rask also injured his groin and was going to be out four-to-six weeks. He grabbed Marty Turco from Austria, knowing that any player added after the trade deadline is ineligible for the post-season, but the Bruins needed another experienced hand to go with Tim Thomas

Does Snow give Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray a call and ask about Chad Johnson, who happened to be Halak’s backup last year? Johnson’s contract is up July 1 and he’s cheap ($1.3-million salary cap hit). Or does he inquire about Jonas Hiller in Calgary, whose contract is also up July 1, or about Niklas Backstrom, the ex-Minnesota goalie, just acquired by the Flames? He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer, too.

It seems inconceivable the Islanders, with a very good team and trying to get home-ice advantage in a likely first-round matchup with the Rangers, can have Greiss play every game with little-used J.F. Berube as the fallback.

Greiss has been better than good (2.23 average and .929 save percentage in 29 games) but he’s always been a support goalie, not a starter. The Isles are saying all the right things about him, but he’s never played more than 30 NHL games in any season (San Jose, Phoenix, Pittsburgh before this) and they have no real backup. Halak, hurt against the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday, had played 36 games

Which brings us to March 3, 2012, when Rask injured his groin making a left pad save against Snow’s Islanders — shortly after the Feb. 27 trade deadline that year. The defending champion Bruins still had the aging Thomas, but that was it, with nine games in a 16-day span upcoming and farm goalie Anton Khudobin hurt.

Chiarelli signed Turco, who was playing in Salzburg in Austria. Turco went 2-2, with less-than-stellar stats (.854 save percentage, 3.68 goal average), but he gave Thomas a breather. They managed to clinch a playoff spot, but that didn’t come until March 31, and they lost out in the first round to the Washington Capitals.

“Greiss has played very well this year, but he’s split the duties,” said former NHL goalie Jamie McLellan, now a commentator on TSN. “A Nos. 1 and 1a system works, but when one guy goes down (Halak), there’s a reason why a guy is a backup in his career. He can give you short-term starts but can he handle six weeks of being a starter? That’s the challenge.

“It’s a different mindset (playing every night). I watched the Toronto game last night (4-3 Leafs win) and if Halak is on the bench, Greiss probably stands on his head. But he’s probably thinking ‘I have to play the next six weeks.’ It’s a different mental challenge.

“I don’t think it would be the worst thing in the world to grab somebody with experience to help bridge things so Greiss doesn’t have to play 16 in a row. I’d say Calgary would be a prime target with three goalies there. I don’t know if the Islanders can leave points on the table playing Berube if they want to get ahead of the Rangers.