Islanders' Pete DeBoer focused on process over points in first 10 games
Head coach Pete DeBoer of the Islanders behind the bench against the Los Angeles Kings at UBS Arena on Thursday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Islanders at the 10-game mark are . . . ?
Well, they could be a few different things, ranging from playoff contender to draft lottery candidate.
Right now, they are a tough team to play against because of their defensive structure and goaltending, but they also are a team that is not scoring enough goals and doesn’t have enough finish to convert its opportunities and consistently win.
Still, points in seven of 10 games (5-3-2) heading into a tough three-game Western Conference swing that starts Sunday in Dallas shows the promise of future consistency. However, 12 points every 10 games likely won’t get the Islanders into the playoffs.
Each coach has a preference on segmenting the schedule — now 84 games — into gradable blocks. For instance, Barry Trotz broke it down into five-game segments.
For current Islanders bench boss Pete DeBoer, it’s 10-game segments.
“We break it down and we look at our game analytically kind of every 10 games,” DeBoer said after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Kings on Thursday night at UBS Arena that snapped a two-game winning streak — their first of the season — but extended the Islanders’ point streak to 3-0-2.
“But I’m not looking at points. I’m looking at our process right now. I think the points take care of itself. I like our process. It’s our responsibility to continue to keep those building blocks in place, and the points will take care of themselves.”
It is an ongoing process because the Islanders are still getting used to what DeBoer is implementing. And DeBoer, hired with four games remaining last season, is still assessing what he can coax from each of his new players.
“We’ve all bought in and it’s been working,” captain Bo Horvat said. “We’re continuing to keep getting better at it. It’s definitely the way we have to play to be successful. So far it’s been good for us and we’ve just got to find ways to bury the puck when we can.”
The Islanders have been held to two or fewer goals four times and were 21st in the NHL with 29 goals scored entering Friday’s games.
“Sometimes you get chances but they don’t go in,” said Matthew Schaefer, whose first goal of the season on Thursday was the 24th of his career, tying him with Hall of Famer Bobby Orr for the second most in NHL history among teenage defensemen. “They’re going to come and it’s going to happen. I just want us playing good hockey.”
This is DeBoer’s sixth NHL stop, so he has experience in how this process works. He has said it can take until Thanksgiving or Christmas for a team to fully grasp how he wants to play.
But he saw a lot of good signs in Thursday’s overtime loss, during which the Islanders had to come back from a two-goal first-period deficit, courtesy of former Ranger Artemi Panarin.
The Islanders had been 0-3-0 when allowing the first goal.
“Those are always the biggest tests, and we talked about that at the end of the first period,” DeBoer said. “As well as we were playing and executing and doing what we wanted to do, you’re in a 2-0 hole. It’s how do you handle that?
“I love the way we stuck with it. An immature team in that situation will open it up and try to cheat for offense, and we didn’t do that. We stuck to what we were doing well and just kept going at it and at it and finally found a way to crack them and get back in the game.”
In addition to this upcoming road trip, the next 10 games brings matches with the Stanley Cup champion Hurricanes and the Connor McDavid-led Oilers, plus a three-game California trip. Points will not be easy to come by, especially if the Islanders continue to struggle to convert their chances.
The next 10 games also should bring some clarity on Mathew Barzal’s status and when the top-six forward, out since Day 1 of training camp with a balky left knee, might be able to contribute.
“We’re understanding what our good game looks like,” DeBoer said. “Now it’s just trying to repeat it for as long as you can, as many nights in a row as you can.”
That will determine what the Islanders are at the 20-game mark.
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.
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