Rolston, Streit keys to Isles' power play
Brian Rolston and goalie Evgeni Nabokov in action on Islanders Media Day. (Sept. 21, 2011) Credit: Newsday/Audrey C. Tiernan
Part of the drumroll for the Islanders' 2011-12 season opener in 10 days was Tuesday's emphasis on the power play.
"We want to have two units, two different looks," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "We want to create more chances, and the way you do that is shoot the puck. So that's one thing we spent a lot of time on as coaches this summer, spent some quality time, did a lot of video with these guys. So hopefully we can improve on that area this year."
The Islanders ranked 17th among the NHL's 30 teams in power-play success last season (17.2 percent), which isn't so bad when compared with the 16.2 percent of the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins. But when it comes to making the postseason -- after four consecutive years of missing the playoffs -- Capuano said, "To me, it's about health, goaltending and special teams. So that's one of the criteria; we have to be good on the penalty kill and the power play."
In late July, veteran Brian Rolston was obtained from New Jersey in a trade for Trent Hunter with the intent of plugging him into a point position on the power play. And that unit's quarterback, Mark Streit, has returned after missing all of last season because of shoulder surgery. The fact that Rolston has been nursing a groin injury, missing practice since last Wednesday, has not been a worry for Capuano.
"If he was 21," Capuano said, "it would throw me off. But at 38 years old, and the amount of power plays he's played on, with a lot of different teams [New Jersey, Colorado, Boston, Minnesota], it's no surprise what he does and what he does best."
Rolston is expected to join team workouts "probably this week," Capuano said.
Streit's presence, both on the power play and as a defensive backbone, has big implications. "The way we work [the power play]," Capuano said, "obviously, you need skill players, but the rotation we have, the passing, [Streit] has tremendous hockey sense. He gets the puck to the net, he finds a hole, the way he can go to the back door. He's smart enough to realize how the play develops and what he needs to do."
Notes & quotes: Capuano on 19-year-old winger Nino Niederreiter, the team's first-round draft choice in 2010: "I see a kid that's a lot more confident, playing with a lot more poise. I see in his eyes his determination and desperation to make our hockey club, to not only make it but to help us win some hockey games. I'm very impressed with where he is right now."
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