Andrew Gross: Islanders' power play needs something — either new coaches, new players or both
Islanders' Brayden Schenn skates against the Kings at UBS Arena on Mar. 13, 2026. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The recent news that the Islanders had relieved assistant coach Benoit Desrosiers of his duties begged the follow-up question of whether power-play boss Ray Bennett will remain on Pete DeBoer’s staff.
The Islanders ranked 30th in the NHL at 15.7% in Bennett’s first season running the man-advantage units after former coach Patrick Roy imported him from the Avalanche.
But, really, it’s more accurate to question whether the coaching or the personnel must be upgraded.
The Islanders went 7 of 41 (17.1%) on the power play as they lost 10 of their last 14 games — but with four of those goals coming in two games — as Roy was fired with four matches remaining and the team missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
“I think the pieces are there,” Brayden Schenn said on breakup day on April 15 after being acquired from the Blues on March 6 and immediately inserted onto a half-wall spot on the top power-play unit. “You’ve got an elite PP1 defenseman [Matthew Schaefer]. You have one of the best bumper shots in the league [Bo Horvat] that can score from the middle. You have a guy that can run it off the half-wall [Mathew Barzal]. [Cal] Ritchie did a great job in front.
“But I think, as a group, puck movement has to be a whole lot faster. You can’t let teams set up in their box or their diamond. We didn’t do a good enough job of moving the puck quick enough to get scoring chances and becoming threats. You’ve got to get inside. If you look at the best power-play units in the league, it’s not the tic-tac-toe goals, it’s the grittiness and outworking the other team. I really thought the power play hurt us down the stretch.”
Yet the Islanders’ power play has long been a problem that has defied a solution. Over the past eight seasons, only in 2021-22 — when the Islanders were 12th in the NHL at 22.1% in the first of four seasons John MacLean ran the power play — have the Islanders finished among the league’s top 16.
Here’s the scorecard:
2018-19 – Scott Gomez: 14.5% (29th)
2019-20 – Jim Hiller: 17.3% (24th)
2020-21 – Jim Hiller: 18.8% (20th)
2021-22 – John MacLean: 22.1% (12th)
2022-23 – John MacLean: 15.8% (30th)
2023-24 – John MacLean: 20.3% (19th)
2024-25 – John MacLean: 12.6% (31st)
2025-26 – Ray Bennett: 15.7% (30th)
“I think [Schenn] nailed it,” Horvat said of the need to move the puck quicker. “We have so much talent, especially on that top unit. It’s all a mindset. The quicker you move the puck, the harder it is for teams to defend and you’re going to get more Grade A opportunities. I find we move it around the perimeter a little bit too much and try to look for that perfect play where, sometimes, it’s just putting pucks and bodies toward the net that makes a difference. That’s a buy in. That’s a mindset for us and something we’re going to have to work at.”
Horvat and Schenn’s assessment argues that it’s the scheme, not the personnel that needs an upgrade.
That would mean it’s up to Bennett — or a successor — to make sure the puck does move quicker.
Schaefer’s decision
Matthew Schaefer opted this week not to play for Team Canada in this month’s World Championships in Switzerland, which he said during Islanders’ breakup day on April 15 would be a consideration The favorite to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie — the three finalists will be announced on Tuesday — he will instead concentrate this offseason on training for next season and having down time with family and friends back home in Hamilton, Ontario.
It will be a welcome change from his hectic schedule last summer, which included being the first overall pick in the NHL Draft in Los Angeles and immediately acclimating to the Islanders’ organization and Long Island.
“I don’t think this summer will be as busy as last summer,” Schaefer said. “I was all over the place last summer and I couldn’t stay at home for a week, at least. It’ll be a good summer because there’s a lot of things I want to get better at, just off the ice, being able to get stronger. I’m pretty skinny so the more I can eat, the more I can get in the gym and work out, the better for me. It’ll be a really good summer. Go back. Take a break. See family and friends. Maybe go on a little vacation.”
Draft lottery odds
Teams in Tuesday night’s NHL Draft Lottery can only move up a maximum of 10 slots so the Islanders, starting at No. 13, cannot get the first overall pick for a second straight season as they did in miracle fashion last year for the right to draft Schaefer.
The Islanders enter the lottery with a 2.0% chance of moving up 10 spots.
Last year, the Islanders, who started at No. 10, had a 3.5% chance of winning the first pick. Ken Morrow, the team’s director of pro scouting and a four-time Stanley Cup winner, represented the Islanders for the lottery with Mathieu Darche not yet hired to replace former general manager Lou Lamoriello. No word yet on whether Morrow or Darche will represent the Islanders this time around.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
