On the surface, the Islanders were dealt a bitter 3-0 defeat to the division rival Pittsburgh Penguins last night. However, while at the game, some different observations came to mind regarding the level of play the team was performing.
Match-ups - I have no idea how many times Jack Capuano put Mike Mottau and Mark Eaton out against Evgeni Malkin's line. I also have no idea how many times John Tavares was sent out with Jordan Staal, Paul Martin, and Kris Letang out for the Penguins. The Islanders are the home-team, which means they get the last option for line changes before faceoffs. Capuano has discretion over who he wants to put out there before the draw. Yes, the Islanders like to roll four lines and three pairings. Generally, that's a sound option that helps evenly spread minutes and keep everyone fresh. However, when at home, coaches should use match-ups to their advantage. And that is something that Capuano is not currently doing. Quite frankly, this is something that needs to be adjusted, especially given that Tavares already faces top pairings in practically every road game. If you can get Tavares out against Ben Lovejoy and Matt Niskanen, why wouldn't you?
Passing - The Islanders have two major problems with their passing technique, which is hindering their offensive production. First, to put it bluntly, they are subpar passing team. Aside from a few forwards, including John Tavares and P.A. Parenteau, the Islanders have a hard time going tape-to-tape on their passes. However, when they do, the puck has been bouncing off their stick. On the contrary, teams like Pittsburgh have no problems with receiving passes. This tells me that the ice is not as much of a problem as it's made out to be. When looking further into it, the Islanders are not bringing their passes in. In other words, they aren't catching the pass - they are just letting it hit their blade. Of course, this is not going to work and is a major reason why passes are going off heels or bouncing off sticks.
Line Changes - Team speed has not been a major strength of the Islanders this season, but their line changes have been just as painfully slow. On multiple occasions last night were players gliding to the bench after their shifts, as their teammates waited more than a few seconds to jump on the ice. This single-handedly ruined a few opportunities the Islanders may have had on the rush. Now, players obviously get tired over the course of a long 45 second shift. That said, their shift does not end when they are called off. They should still be busting their behinds to get to the bench. This results in better flow and transition ability, especially in the second period when on the long change. To put it simply, the Islanders need to be quicker on their line changes before it results in goals against.
Confidence - Let's face it. The team just is not playing with much confidence right now. After the first goal by Pascal Dupuis in a somewhat solid first period, the team just derailed. They were sloppier and were pressing. They were not playing relaxed, which led to a multitude of mistakes - some of which were made through hesitation. This is a young team that needs confidence to perform at a high level. The question is if an inexperienced coaching staff will be able to carry them through a losing streak.
Stick-Checking - To be honest, I'm not sure if the Islanders coaching staff is telling the team to do this or not, but the constant poke-checks are to the point where it compromises team toughness. On more than one occasion last night, an Islander had the ability to line a Pittsburgh player up and hit them. They mostly passed on the opportunity to try a poke-check. In the case of Travis Hamonic, who is not afraid to make contact, this did not work often - especially against Steve Sullivan. The team needs to be physical to wear opponents down over the course of the game. They need to be physical to establish their presence in the game itself. No one is calling for boarding penalties or even fighting. But they have to be more engaged physically.
Special Teams - To be fair, the penalty kill was effective against last night. However, the Penguins had the Islanders powerplay scouted perfectly. The Islanders tried two things last night: Brian Rolston shoots or Mark Streit shoots. And that is the easiest powerplay to defend, especially given the Penguins aggressive style. It seemed somewhat robotic, which I'm sure is not what Doug Weight wants. It will be interesting to see if the team adjusts to this on Thursday, especially given they play the Penguins again.
Puck Possession - There just is not enough of puck possession. As it stands, only the Islanders fourth line has put together solid cycles consistently over the first seven games. The Tavares line has maintained control as well, but that is mostly due to the level that Tavares is playing at. The Nielsen and Bailey line are both seemingly always playing in the defensive zone, which does not allow for many opportunities. This is especially important for Nielsen's line, who thrive in a run-and-gun type game through transition. The fact that Michael Grabner has just two goals, with Nielsen and Kyle Okposo with just one point should say it all.
What's Next?
Well, the reality is nothing will probably happen. Since Capuano did not change line combinations and defensive pairings tonight, it's reasonable to expect that he won't change them for Thursday's game. The Islanders will have to find their game themselves before they dig themselves into a hole that is too deep.
What should happen is the Islanders should make some changes. Whether they are minor or major, management needs to send a message to the players that this is not working. For too long, management has been reactive to problems while being short-sighted in the aggregate. They need to start being proactive, and some sort of roster transaction would send a clear message to the team. As it is, status quo is not good enough.
-CH
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