Islanders' top scoring line looks to its defensive responsibilities
Islanders center Bo Horvat, right, is congratulated by center Mathew Barzal after scoring against the San Jose Sharks during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, March 7, 2024. Credit: AP/Jeff Chiu
BUFFALO — The points have been coming from the Islanders’ top-heavy top trio. Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson have all produced on this four-game road trip.
But, the linemates conceded, there’s room for improvement defensively.
“There’s still things I think we’ve got to continue to keep getting better at,” Horvat said before the Islanders concluded their road trip against the Sabres on Thursday night at KeyBank Center. “For the most part, I think we’ve been playing really well. Sometimes, in the defensive zone, sorting it out a little better. If we play well in that end, the rest is going to take care of itself.”
The Islanders had a season-high six-game winning streak snapped with Monday night’s 3-0 loss to the Kings. Horvat’s line was on the ice for the Kings’ second goal at 6:07 of the third period. But it was the only goal the line had been on the ice for among the six the Islanders had allowed in the trip’s first three games.
Barzal had a seven-game point streak snapped in the loss while Nelson’s five-game point streak and Horvat’s four-game point streak also ended.
Nelson entered Thursday’s match with one goal and four assists on the trip, Horvat had two goals and three assists and Barzal had a goal and two assists. In the seven games since coach Patrick Roy took natural center Nelson off the second line and put him on Horvat’s left wing along with Barzal, also a converted center, Nelson had four goals and six assists, Horvat had four goals and five assists and Barzal had three goals and five assists.
“There were definitely times in the last game where we could have been a little better in the defensive zone,” Barzal said. “If you look at the overall picture, I feel like there’s a lot of positives that not only my line, but I feel like every line can look at.”
A good portion of the defensive improvement Horvat’s line is seeking will come with better instinctual play. A wing’s defensive responsibilities are different from a center’s and with two converted pivots among the three, there is still some positional uncertainty.
“A little bit,” Horvat said. “Those are reads you have to make. We all know what it’s like to play down low and how to do that. It’s just a matter of recognizing who’s going to be low that shift and going from there.”
Still, some of the line’s self-analysis of its defensive work could be the result of perfectionist athletes always seeing some imperfection.
Per NaturalStatTrick.com, the trio entered Thursday having played together for a sum of 94:45 over nine games. The trio’s Corsi For percentage was a strong 55.50. The same with a 55.03 Fenwick to measure shot differential. In all, the line had created 111 chances while having 89 chances against.
So, the numbers have been pretty good. But the line has been pinned in its zone for two-minute plus shifts a couple of times.
“They mentioned to you guys [the media] they wanted to play better defensively and I love to hear that,” coach Patrick Roy said. “They’re playing against top lines and the less you’re giving, the better it is. The less time you spend in your zone, the more time you have in the offensive zone. I love the fact that they want to get better and they want to continue to grow as a group of three.”
Barzal said the ultimate objective with having the team’s three highest-scoring forwards together should be being able to dominate play over the full course of a game.
“I don’t necessarily think there’s been one game yet where there’s been a full 60 minutes where it’s just domination,” Barzal said. “There’s still been a little bit of growing together. It’s different. We have three guys on the line and I don’t think any of us have played on a line with three centermen.
“I’ve got to do a better job of respecting Nellie when he has the puck and Bo, when he has the puck. I’ve got to get to the net a little more for them and let them play a give-and-go game down low. And vice versa.”
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.
