Greiss Grinds For 100 Wins

Thomas Greiss isn't one to get too wrapped up in milestones, but the Islanders goalie reached one on Sunday night, recording his 100th career win in the Isles 2-1 victory over Carolina.
It's not exactly the top of the NHL's active leaderboard, but it signifies a worthy achievement for a goalie who didn't see a starter's workload until he was 29.
"He's been sharing the net in a lot of his career, so to get to 100 that speaks volumes for how good he's been when he gets his chance and what he's capable of," Thomas Hickey said. "Not many guys are able to get to that point when they don't have the lion's share of the starts and he's able to do it and start for long periods of time. Proud of him, it's a good accomplishment."

From Greiss' NHL debut in 2008 until joining the Islanders in 2015, the German goalie played 89 games as a backup behind established starters like Evgeni Nabokov in San Jose and Marc-Andre Fleury in Pittsburgh, limiting his opportunities.

RELATED: SUMMER SERIES - THOMAS GREISS
"San Jose I was behind Nabokov, he was the clear number one there and he played great, so I had a limited amount of time there," Greiss said. "There were a bunch of other spots like that."
Without laying claim to a starting job, Greiss' career took a nomadic turn, playing for four different teams - San Jose, Arizona, Pittsburgh and the Islanders - in four seasons. His NHL career even took a detour to Europe in 2010-11 when he spent the season playing for Brynas in the Swedish Hockey League before returning to North America the next season.
"It was frustrating, but you're still playing hockey and still having fun with it," Greiss said. "It's still better than driving a garbage truck back home. So of course when you play the game you always want more, but on the other side you always have to appreciate what you have."
Greiss has found a bigger role in his three-plus seasons with the Islanders. Of his 100 career wins, 64 have come since joining the Isles.
What's gone right for Greiss on Long Island? It's mainly the opportunity to play more and prove himself. He got an chance right out of the gate, starting the season opener in 2015-16 in place of an injured Jaroslav Halak. Greiss would play 41 games that season, becoming the Islanders' starter down the stretch and into the playoffs after Halak suffered a season-ending injury in March.

Greiss was a key piece of the Islanders' playoff series win against Florida, making 48 saves in a 2-1 double OT win in Game 5 and 42 more in the series-clinching Game 6. The next season Greiss set career-highs in wins (26) and games played (51) in 2016-17, again taking over the starting job from January to March after Halak was loaned to Bridgeport.
Even though Greiss only appeared in 27 games last season in an admittedly tough injury-shortened season, that number still accounts for his third-highest, single-season total.
"He had a great first couple of years here," Cal Clutterbuck said. "He was really strong when we needed somebody in that position to come up big. Happy for him, for a guy who was a backup and worked his way to a starting role."
Greiss is well-liked in the Islanders locker room. His easy-going nature has made him a popular teammate, bucking the stereotype that goalies are introspective and tense players. He talks to reporters on game day, instead of his posts.
"Usually goalies are a little bit weird," Johnny Boychuk said. "It's not like Greisser's not weird, but he's a little more laid back than most."
Greiss' work off the ice makes him easy to root for as well. He runs a hockey camp for the children of US military families at Fort Bragg, NC, over the summer and might just tow your car out of a snowbank if he's driving by on Long Island.

Greiss is back in a platoon again this season with Robin Lehner, playing four of the Isles first 10 games of the season, but it doesn't faze the easy-going goalie, who is 2-2-0 with a couple of big-time wins over Carolina. He's felt the Islanders to be a good fit since joining the team in 2015 - and likely wouldn't have gotten to the century mark without the opportunities here.
"It's been fun, I've played in a lot of cool spots, but looking back the most fun I've had was playing here, most memories here," Greiss said.