New York Islanders Show Growth on Power Play, but Need to Sustain it

Saturday’s 3-2 shootout loss extended their point streak to five games, and after six straight games where the power play looked off, things finally appeared to turn a corner.

New York went 2-for-4 on the man-advantage and managed to generate chances during all four attempts against Nashville. It had been the first time all season that the Islanders had been able to create sustained momentum on the power play.

New York’s powerplay had been a weakness so far this season, with just two goals on 16 attempts (12.5 percent) through six games.

“We talked about that going into it,” Brock Nelson said. “We were able to execute on that, get some power-play goals. Penalty kill shut down a pretty good unit on the other side.”

The penalty kill denied Nashville on all four of their opportunities, which was rather impressive given their power-play ranking heading into the game. The Nashville had entered the game ranked third in the NHL at 31.8 percent, coming through on seven of their 22 chances this season.

The change appeared to come from a more confident group on the power play. After a week off and some time to work on the weakest aspect of their game, the Islanders’ power-play personnel were quicker to shoot and made much better decisions with the puck.

Anthony Beauvillier converted on the Islanders’ first power play of the afternoon after some strong passing by Mathew Barzal and Josh Bailey. The quickness of the puck movement allowed Beauvillier a wide-open net to shoot on.

A power play beauty! pic.twitter.com/ibZpuVjW8d

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) October 30, 2021

The quick power-play tally jumpstarted both units with the second unit jumping into the action in the second period. Ryan Pulock, Brock Nelson and Oliver Wahlstrom teamed up for the Islanders’ second goal of the afternoon on the man advantage.

Oliver Wahlstrom couldn't have placed that any better. pic.twitter.com/cQb9JbGE9O

— NHL (@NHL) October 30, 2021

That goal was Wahlstrom’s second power-play goal of the season and he has accounted for 50 percent of the power-play production so far this season. The Islanders ended the night with seven shots through four power-play chances, with their two goals being the only offense for the day.

“Our power play got us a point,” New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said.

The power play has been the Islanders’ Achilles heel over the past few years because of its lack of productivity, which has come back to bite the New York Islanders in critical moments.

As the season progresses, the special teams will need to be a reason for success, not a reason for failure.

“We need that every night. We need our special teams to step up like it did tonight,” Beauvillier said. “We know it is going to be huge moving forward, especially later on in the season.”

The Islanders’ powerplay is now up to a 20 percent success rate this year, which ranks 16th in the NHL. It’s a step in the right direction for sure, but it will need to show more consistency moving forward, especially as the Islanders navigate their choppy schedule.

That could make all the difference when the Islanders hit the home stretch later in the year.