After going 0-for-4 on the man advantage in a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins, the New York Islanders' power play sits at 12.7 percent, which ranks 31st in the NHL.
For the most part, this season, the power play has actually looked dangerous, but the goals aren't coming. Against Boston, that was probably the weakest the man advantage has looked, but some great setups just went by the wayside.
The Islanders have the third-most scoring chances on the power play this season (148), but the second-fewest goals (10), with an Expected Goals for of 21.58.
"I just feel like our power play has been playing really well," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said following Wednesday's loss. "And sometimes it's like our PK. Our PK right now is playing with a lot of confidence. Maybe, sometimes, it's just a matter of having a little bit more confidence around the net, and our power play will click. You get one, you get two—all of a sudden, I mean, you feel confident. And I feel like that's always missing, because we are doing everything right."
Roy touched on but let's elaborate a bit on the traffic part.
When the Islanders have had success on the power play, more often than not it's when Schaefer, at the point, keeps things simple. When he sees traffic in front, he has the innate ability to get his wrist shot through.
When the Islanders don't have success, it's when Schaefer, Mathew Barzal, and Jonathan Drouin are playing too much perimeter hockey. While you do have to credit some of the opposition's penalty killers who have clogged up the lanes, especially Bo Horvat in the bumper spot, too often the Islanders are trying to find the perfect pass.
"We seem dangerous," Barzal said. "When we're moving it around well, and looking at the net and attacking the net, we got a lot of threats out there. So, as long as we're just moving around and creating threats, I feel like we're always dangerous. We got good players in the unit."
Does Barzal think that they need to simplify things at all?
"I don't think so…we're definitely looking for like Bo Horvat shooting from the slot. I mean, if we can get one look at that versus four average looks, I'll take that all day," Barzal said. "We feel dangerous. I mean, everyone in the building knows it's dangerous, so we just gotta find a way."
With how tight the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference are, the Islanders are fortunate, with their lack of power-play success, to find themselves in the wild-card spot at Thanksgiving. Seventy-seven percent of teams in a playoff spot by then make the playoffs.
However, the difference between first in the Metro and last in the division is 5 points. And over these first three games of the seven-game homestand, the Islanders' power play struggles are why they are 1-2-0. The team has scored just two total goals over those three games, with the power play going 0-for-10.
Roy did mention that he would talk with power-play coach Ray Bennett on Thursday to see what he thinks about maybe changing up some of the personnel.
One thing the Islanders may consider is taking Drouin off the first unit. While he is a fantastic playmaker, he isn't really a threat to shoot from the right flank. That allows the opposing PK to focus on Horvat in the bumper.
The same can be said about Barzal at the left flank, who is more often than not looking for Horvat once he gets the puck.
Until the Islanders have two players on the flanks who are true one-time threats, it will be hard not to score consistently on the man advantage. Even if those players don't rifle ones, if the opponent thinks the one-timer is coming, that will likely open up space for Barzal or Drouin to tap one to Horvat — just a thought.
We saw this power-play story last season, finishing the campaign at 12.6 percent, 31st in the NHL. Had the power play been 10 percent better, the Islanders likely would have made the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Despite being in a playoff spot right now, the inability to come through on the man advantage could hinder this team's ability to stay in the hunt as the season progresses.
However, if the power play starts to find success, the Islanders will have a strong chance not just of making the playoffs, but of becoming one of the more dangerous teams in the Eastern Conference.
