The sweeping changes to both power play units promoted by Patrick Roy on Wednesday are long overdue for an Islanders club that inherited the worst special teams in the class from a year ago and somehow regressed even further. did.
This is likely just a coincidence, given that John MacLean, who led the power struggle under the previous government, is still in the same position.
But it's still worth noting that since Roy took over behind the bench last January, the Islanders have had an abysmal 15.78 percent conversion rate at 5-on-4, and 12.7 percent this season into Wednesday's game. It has been successful and is ranked 31st, surpassing only that number. Their opponent tonight is the Bruins.
So, yes, something had to change.
There is no declared top unit, and Roy said there is no advance plan as to who will get more time or whether it will be split evenly.
Ryan Purock was the quarterback, with Noah Dobson and Simon Holmstrom on the half wall, Jean-Gabriel Pageau on the bumper and Anders Lee in net.
Dennis Cholowski was the opposing quarterback, with Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson on the wall, Bo Horvat on the bumper, and Maxim Tsyplakov in net.
Dobson, who has been a PP1 quarterback almost uninterrupted since the 2021-22 season, told the Post he believes this is the first time he has played elsewhere on the power play since his junior year.
“Obviously not,” he said. “It's pretty different. I think I'm just trying to adapt as a player. If I look different, when I get the puck and where I get the puck is different. I'm trying to adapt as much as I can, whether it's up top or at the half wall. I think so.
“I know sometimes during the game there are turnovers and you end up in places you wouldn’t normally be, so I think you have to be comfortable playing in all the spots.”
The power play problems were like chickenpox and it was all over. The Islanders don't put the puck in the net. Even when they do, it's rarely a good thing because you don't get a penalty kill that moves left and right.
Losing a faceoff or failing to retrieve the puck down low often effectively ends the power play as he struggles to get the puck back into the zone.
“We have to be patient because it's a new position for some players,” Roy said of the new style. “But the main thing is [thing] I have Beau on the bumper with Palmsy and Nellie. I hope they find a way to create offense and continue to create chances because the chances are there. All that's left to do is finish it. It's good to create something, but you have to finish it someday. ”
The Islanders had some chances on the power play, but they fell short in overwhelming numbers.
According to Natural Stat Trick, they rank 21st in expected goals per 60 minutes on the power play and 21st in dangerous chances per 60 minutes on the power play.
So their performance is poor, but not so much that just finishing at normal speed will solve all your problems.
“I think [it’s about] We’re simplifying things,” Palmieri said. “The important thing for us is getting the puck to the net and finding second chances. Even though we have a pretty good power play that's in the top five, top 10, a lot of our goals still come from rebounds, break plays, things like that. So it doesn't have to be picture perfect to be on video. What's really important is to keep it simple and get the puck to the net.”
But fixing this power play is far from easy.
