Islanders’ Top Guns Must Shake It Off and Shine in Game 2 vs. Pens

Even for teams that thrive on structure rather than star talent, you’ll only get as far your best players can take you. In the case of the Barry Trotz-coached New York Islanders, success involves buying into a selfless and smart brand of hockey.

Unfortunately, New York’s leaders didn’t show either of those traits in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. A 4-3 overtime victory obscures the fact that the Islanders’ best players were actually their worst on Sunday afternoon. Sure, a win is a win in the playoffs, but with Evgeni Malkin likely to return from injury soon and Pittsburgh’s goaltending bound to improve upon a horrific performance, Trotz’s men won’t get away with another dismal outing.

Pittsburgh owned 64.7% of the high-danger chances at 5-on-5. Considering the Islanders typically excel in the trenches (56.2 HDCF% during the regular season) and the Penguins typically outscore their expectations (49.3 xGF% vs. 55.7 GF%), this had all the makings of a devastating loss for New York.

The mistakes came early and often—and they came largely from the Islanders’ most important players.

Mathew Barzal, who has led the club in scoring for four consecutive seasons, logged a healthy 20:22 of ice time (third among Isles forwards) on Sunday…and he delivered some of the lousiest hockey of his career. Every puck he touched turned into a giveaway. Every decision he made was ill-advised.

In the first period alone, his teammates continually put him in advantageous situations only for him to waste their efforts:

The two ensuing frames weren’t quite as abominable, but Barzal clearly wasn’t in rhythm on Sunday. You can’t attribute his struggles to Pittsburgh’s execution either, as the Penguins ice a very vulnerable blue line and he enjoyed plenty of time, space and service from his teammates. He was simply off from the opening whistle and couldn’t steer his way back onto the tracks.

When he should have fired on net, he attempted a high-difficulty pass. When he should have reset or dished to a teammate, he tried to dangle through the opposition on his own.

Apparently, skating directly into the teeth of the defense doesn’t always work out:

Trying to maneuver through a defender didn’t yield better results:

Look, Barzal is an immensely talented young star who should be granted a bit of creative leeway on the offensive end. However, there’s a time and place for that quality within Trotz’s scheme. Pick your spots. When poor decisions plague you all night long, your skill isn’t providing a spark but rather sinking the team.

It’s no real shocker that he ended the game with a team-worst 25.8 xGF%. Think about that for a second: During his shifts, Pittsburgh owned 74.2% of the expected goals against New York’s best forward.

On the back end, Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock form one of the very finest pairings in hockey. The former is effective because of his instincts and disruptive stick. He stays on the right side of the puck and makes fundamentally sound choices. That savvy approach paid sweeping dividends in the regular season. Among blueliners who logged at least 800 minutes at 5-on-5, Pelech ranked sixth in xGF% despite playing a shutdown role. That’s outstanding.

Alas, Game 1 wasn’t his night.

Much like Barzal up front, Pelech simply didn’t look ready for playoff intensity on Sunday. He was regularly one step behind and seemed overwhelmed in the heat of battle. As such, he began to wander outside his comfort zone—whether that means over-handling the puck when a simpler play is available or pinching without any semblance of forward support:

Both of those sequences led to free high-quality chances for the Pens. As if Pittsburgh wasn’t potent enough already, you can’t be handing them opportunities on a silver platter.

Late in the contest, when Pelech was offered some room, he kept icing the puck for no particular reason:

Finally, his in-zone defense wasn’t as stout as usual. The Islanders live and die by protecting the house. Even if that means getting outshot, New York will accept the barrage so long as it originates from the perimeter. Block shots, outmuscle your opponents and maintain inside leverage at all costs. Trotz believes his club will win in the dirty areas, and over the long haul, that dominance will create frustration and counterattacking opportunities. Pelech didn’t get that memo in Game 1:

Sidney Crosby nearly clinched the win following that gaffe.

Without Malkin and buried by a pathetic showing between the pipes, Pittsburgh still took New York to the very limit on Sunday. The Islanders needed Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Kyle Palmieri to combine for three goals and five points in order to eke out their 1-0 series advantage. They probably won’t see contributions of that magnitude for the remainder of the first round.

Therefore—and as obvious as it may seem—New York will require much better play from Barzal and Pelech moving forward. If its pillars can’t figure it out, the club will collapse like a house of cards.