BUFFALO — The secret to a good season is getting through the little climaxes.
Sometimes it’s not about eating better or different habits, but something as innocuous as not taking a bad hit and going in the wrong direction.
As much as we might all like to pretend otherwise, dumb luck has a pretty big role to play. Kyle Palmieri tells us about it.
“I think this is really one of those. Some years I’ve tried my best to prepare, but I’ve just had better luck than others,” Palmieri said Wednesday before the Islanders practiced at KeyBank Arena. he later told the Post. Sabers on Thursday. “If you look at injuries to other players on the team, there’s nothing you can do about things like broken bones. It’s part of the game, and sometimes you’re lucky enough to avoid situations like that. Sometimes it’s really just part of the game.”
A year ago, Palmieri took advantage of that good fortune.
An otherwise strong season ended with Palmieri missing nearly a month after sustaining a blow to the head, then missing another month after taking a second blow to the head in his first game back. There was a month-long hiatus.
As a result, Palmieri was unable to play a full season for the second consecutive year (in 2021-22, he improved until the second half and played in 69 games), and was unable to reach his previous record of 20 goals. . Annual basis.
He has played in all 64 games for the Islanders so far this year, and just a few days ago reached the 20-goal milestone against his old team, the Ducks.
If he can stay healthy, there’s a good chance he can surpass the career-high 30 he hit in the 2015-16 season with the Devils.
“Health is obviously a big part of it,” Palmieri said. “But there are some lucky bounces as well. I think for the most part, a lot of those goals came from near the net and plays like that. Being in the right spot and finding a way to get the puck as it bounces back. It’s just something I’ve been working on and obviously had some success with.”
Palmieri going online is nothing new. But the line he’s played this season, first with Brock Nelson and Pierre Engvall and more recently with Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, has helped his style of play.
It doesn’t hurt that he’s placed in the crease of the top power play unit, but the Islanders averaged 0.47 extra expected goals per 60 minutes with Palmieri on the ice when 5-on-5, according to HockeyViz. It is said that they are doing so. This is mainly due to his activities around the internet.
“Basically if you look at the two lines that I spent the most time on, I think for the most part it’s pretty simple, and I think in terms of moving north and south and attacking when I can. We had to play a very simple game,”’ Palmieri said. “Personally, what my game suits is that I’m great in possession and moving around in the offensive zone, but at the point where I have to attack the net, at least that’s how I try to play effectively. This is the formula.
“I think it’s both lines that I’ve spent most of my time with, and both lines were guys that complemented each other in a very simple way of playing the game.”
So Palmieri’s best season as an Islander may not just be a matter of luck and health.
“He’s always near the net,” coach Patrick Roy said. “He gets paid for it. In today’s hockey, not every player goes around the net. He does it perfectly.”
