Peter DeBoer didn’t need long to identify the Islanders’ biggest power-play issue.
It’s not just personnel. It’s not just execution. It’s movement - or, more accurately, the lack of it.
The Islanders have lived in the bottom half of the league in power-play percentage every year since 2021-22, and last season’s 16.5% mark was bad enough to finish 30th in the NHL. In DeBoer’s first full season running the bench, he’s making it clear that the man advantage has to look different if this team is going to climb back into playoff contention.
“The good power plays are interchangeable,” DeBoer said today after introducing the power play for the first time today at camp. “There’s a lot of motion, there’s a lot of movement, there’s a lot of guys moving to different parts of the ice.
They’re interchangeable in their positioning. I felt this group was really stagnant.
Almost deferring to ‘oh, well that’s my spot there, that’s your spot.' That’s a small piece of it.
There’s a lot of other things, but I think that’s probably the biggest thing is using the whole zone and being interchangeable, like all the elite power plays are.”
That was the theme again when he expanded on it.
“We have positions we want to start in that you pencil in, but then you’ve got to play hockey,” DeBoer said. “You can’t get married to your spot at the expense of having a good power play.”
The message is simple: stop standing still, start forcing defenders to react.
Without Mat Barzal at training camp, the Islanders worked through the power play without their quarterback in place. The first unit featured Matthew Schaefer, Kyle Palmieri, Brayden Schenn, Cal Ritchie, and Bo Horvat. The second unit lined up with Tony DeAngelo, Matias Maccelli, Anthony Duclair, Simon Holmstrom, and Emil Heineman.
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Mathew Barzal is the name that hangs over the first few days of camp, even as the Islanders take a cautious approach with his latest injury issue. The team is treating the situation carefully, which leaves his immediate availability for the opener very much up in the air, and it adds another layer of intrigue to a camp that already feels like a test of how quickly this group can get healthy and settled. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Prospects Suddenly Have A Real Opening Night Opportunity
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For New York, it is another early reminder that the teams around it are already treating these exhibition games like auditions with consequences. The Devils still have some sorting to do, but the camp chatter has made clear that this is not just about filling out the preseason lineup, and one of the more interesting roster battles is unfolding in goal, where Daws could force his way into a much bigger role if the opportunity stays open. [Read more 🡒]