Islanders 'comfortable' with Halak, Greiss goaltending tandem

If Garth Snow plans to upgrade between the pipes prior to the trade deadline, he's certainly not showing his cards.

Speaking with Steven Marcus of Newsday, the New York Islanders general manager reaffirmed his confidence in his team's goaltending tandem, Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss.

While the two have struggled this season, Snow only has to look to the past to see that both netminders have the ability to win big games.

"We're fortunate that we have Jaro Halak, who was the top goaltender in the World Cup a little over a year ago. He's got a tremendous track record of clutch playoff performances," Snow said. "Without Thomas Greiss two years ago, we don't advance to the second round. Last year, he was excellent for us.

"For us, we know we have two quality goalies. It's finding the right solutions to help them perform at peak level ... I'm comfortable when our goalies are performing at their capabilities that we can go out there on any given night and win."

Despite the GM's vote of confidence, the Islanders surely could have used some goaltending help Thursday against the lowly Buffalo Sabres, as Halak surrendered the first two shots he faced before finishing the night with just 18 saves in a 4-3 loss to the Sabres.

Related: 5 ways to fix the Islanders' goaltending woes

The two blown points is a big blunder for an Islanders squad fighting for a playoff berth, as a win Thursday would have moved New York into a wild-card position.

While the Islanders have been one of the top scoring teams this season - only the Tampa Bay Lightning have found the back of the net more often - the team has been dogged by its pedestrian netminding. The Islanders have allowed a league-worst 201 goals, 15 more than the next worst club.

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