The New York Islanders' power play is showing signs of improvement, a development met with cautious optimism from players and coaches who describe the unit as a "work in progress." After years of struggle, the team's 5-on-4 unit has converted at a 26.66 percent clip in the early part of the season, scoring four goals in their last five games.
Despite the positive trend, the team is hesitant to declare victory, noting the small sample size. In Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Lightning, the power play managed one goal on three opportunities, bringing their season total to four conversions in 15 chances. This early success, however, is viewed as a significant step forward compared to previous seasons where the unit faltered.
"Even from where we were sitting at training camp to where we are today, it definitely feels like it has more chemistry. It's getting better," forward Brayden Schenn told The Post. "We're getting shown a lot of good stuff. Ultimately, it's on us to go out there, have the right reads and execute."
Past seasons have seen initial optimism around the power play fade as the year progressed. Coach Pete DeBoer and assistant coach Rocky Thompson are focused on building a consistent unit. While the Islanders possess talent, including Matthew Schaefer on the point and Bo Horvat in the bumper role, execution and avoiding predictable patterns have been key challenges.
"They're obviously still gonna key in on him, but that's up on the other four guys to move in different directions, as well as on him to pull out or move to different spots to find lanes," Schenn said. "They're not always gonna be slot shots for Bo."
DeBoer echoed this sentiment, stating, "We're just trying to add bricks to the foundation of everything we do. Nothing's perfect or seamless yet, but I'm seeing some good signs in a lot of different areas."
In other team news, Bo Horvat, who missed practice Friday with a presumed concussion, played in Saturday's game and recorded an assist. "Anytime the principal point of contact's the head, it's always scary. I feel fine," Horvat said. "The right side of my face hurts a little bit, but other than that, I feel pretty good."