For Islanders to reverse course, smarter play is a requisite
Islanders coach Pete DeBoer looks on during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks on Monday in San Jose, Calif. Credit: AP/Thien-An Truong
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Smarten up.
The Islanders’ path to victories this season is through systems play and discipline, not overwhelming opponents in terms of talent, though there is certainly some on the roster beyond 19-year-old defenseman Matthew Schaefer.
Still, it’s tough for the Islanders to overcome stretches of less-than-smart play and that’s been an issue at times during this 0-2-2 skid. Smarter play is a requisite for the Islanders to reverse course.
“It’s all a mindset for us,” captain Bo Horvat told Newsday following Tuesday’s practice at SAP Center. “You score that first goal or you get that first lead and maybe you think it’s going to be a different game. We kind of get away from our game a little bit. It just can’t happen. We know what our good game likes like and then sometimes we just get away from it and it kind of bites us.”
The Islanders continue a three-game California swing against the Kings on Thursday night after opening the trip with a 3-2 eight-round shootout loss to the Sharks on Monday night that could have gone the other way with smarter play.
“When we were playing smart early in the game, I loved our start,” coach Pete DeBoer said after Monday’s shootout defeat. “And then we got totally away from what was working for us and got exposed as soon as we did.”
Newsday asked DeBoer to expand on that after Tuesday’s practice.
“First off, everybody gets into those stretches, every team,” DeBoer said. “It’s eliminating them as much as possible. I don’t know the answer to that. We got the early lead. We had the puck for most of the first 10 minutes of the game. Sometimes, maybe you think it’s going to be an easy night, an offensive night, and you fall into that trap. I saw a little bit of that. We turned the puck over too much and we didn’t defend with enough detail. We got into a game that we’re not built for in order to win.”
That was a speed game as both teams found plenty of time and space on the ice to operate.
Before going further, don’t equate this to the Islanders having dumb players. Or dumb coaches. That’s not the point. Or true, for that matter.
But it is a group dynamic and only through teamwork can these stretches of sub-par hockey be limited to a bare minimum.
Among the needs for improvement: Better coordination as a five-man unit on the ice; spending less time in the penalty box; not making assumptions as to how the game will proceed after a good stretch of play; and better puck management in the defensive zone to not feed the opponent’s transition game.
The Sharks outshot the Islanders 39-32 and the Devils held a 50-23 shot advantage and an 81-44 edge in chances in their 5-4 overtime win on Saturday at UBS Arena.
“Maybe a little bit of disconnection between the forwards and defensemen on breakouts,” defenseman Logan Stanley told Newsday. “When we’re connected as five, it’s a lot easier to get the puck up the ice. I’m sure Pete said we’re not a team that can swing and bring pucks back and hold on to it. We want to forecheck. So being connected is huge for us. We can’t have separation. As defensemen, we can make better plays with the puck. Help share the puck out instead of chunking it up to them and handing your problem off to somebody else.”
“One of the things we were talking about is coming out of the defensive zone when we get possession not to just throw it away,” fourth-liner Kyle MacLean, sporting a purplish, swollen right eye after his fight with the Sharks’ Ty Dellandrea, told Newsday. “A couple of times we were just high-flipping it or just whacking it away when we probably could have been working for each other and making those smaller passes and support plays.”
At some point, perhaps in Los Angeles or Saturday night against the Ducks, the Islanders’ lineup will get bolstered with the return of top-six forwards Mathew Barzal (left knee), Matias Maccelli (lower body) and defenseman Ryan Pulock (upper body).
All three participated in contact drills during Tuesday’s practice as they all took another step toward their return.
“We’re taking steps every day,” DeBoer said. “They’ve also been out for a long time so we want to make sure that when they do come in, that it’s right. That we’re not rushing it.”
That’s the smart call. And maybe getting those players back will also help the Islanders lessen those patches of less-than-smart hockey.
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.
