The Pittsburgh Penguins just vaulted past the New York Islanders (on paper) by addressing their power play issues.

The date was April 11th.

With the New York Islanders falling 5-2 to the Washington Capitals a day prior, the ball was in the Pittsburgh Penguins court as a win over the bottom-feeding Chicago Blackhawks would punch their ticket to the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

However, a 5-2 loss shut the door on the aging trio of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang winning a fourth Stanley Cup.

It was just the first time in 16 seasons that Pittsburgh hadn't qualified for postseason play.

While the Penguins packed their bags, the Islanders won their final game of the season, locking up the top wild-card spot meaning a matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 1.

After six games, the Islanders joined the Penguins on the golf course, reflecting on what went wrong and turning their focus toward the 2023-24 season. 

Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello assessed his club's season and believed that bringing back his unrestricted free agents was more important than using that money to shake up the room and bring new faces in.

READ MORE: Islanders Bring Back Engvall, Mayfield & Varlamov, Extend Sorokin

The Penguins went in the complete opposite direction, firing Ron Hextall and hiring ex-Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas as team president. 

Dubas, who was on the search for a GM, has also taken on that role. 

Dubas took care of his internal matters but made a huge splash on Sunday, acquiring 2023 Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks while clearing cap space in a three-team trade with the Montreal Canadiens. 

Whether you believe the Penguins made an excellent trade for the 33-year-old defenseman or it was horrendous, there's one thing that everyone can agree on.

The Penguins are going for it.

Karlsson may not make the Penguins a Stanley Cup contender, as they are very top-heavy and lack the defensive style and strong goaltending it takes to win it all.

But again, Dubas is giving his longtime players a shot rather than moving pieces away and going into a rebuild or a retool.

Even if Karlsson doesn't put up over 100 points this season, his power-play skillsets will be helpful. 

The Penguins finished the 2022-23 season with the 12th-best power play in the league at 21.7 percent. A tad better, and a playoff spot was there's. 

The Islanders had a similar story.

New York's power play was putrid this past season, operating at just 15.8 percent, the third-worst in the NHL. It didn't get better in the playoffs, as despite dominating the Hurricanes at five-on-five, a 1-for-18 power-play spell proved incredibly costly. 

One would think that making a power-play coaching change or bringing in a deadly power-play specialist would be in the cards.

But, as of now, John MacLean is still listed as their power-play coach, and given a lack of cap space and no "hockey trades" as of yet, it seems like the Islanders are banking on a power-play bounceback.

A bounceback implies that the Islanders' power play was strong and then just had a down year.

It wasn't bad in 2021-22, executing at a 22.1 percent clip (12th best), but the lack of overall success with the man advantage stems from not having that elite finisher the club's been lacking since...Mike Bossy?

There are reasons to be optimistic that New York's power play will be improved, but actions speak louder than whatever words we provide here. 

Bo Horvat, who did not bring the finishing the Islanders would have liked upon his acquisition this past season, will have a chance to redeem himself, and you know he will have a massive chip on his shoulder this season. 

Of Horvat's 38 goals in 2022-23, he scored 12 while on the power play. 

Mathew Barzal, back healthy, will hope that his five-on-five chemistry with Horvat will seep into the power play unit like it did when both helped the power play go six for 19 before Barzal's long-term leg injury. 

A healthy Oliver Wahlstrom should also help the power play with his lethal shot despite consistency issues. 

The key to the Islanders power play is Noah Dobson, who seemed to have zero confidence in his abilities with the puck on his stick. 

Per a source, the Islanders inquired about Karlsson before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, but Dobson was part of the package San Jose wanted. 

Whether it was failing to enter the opponent's zone cleanly (Dobson's job when Barzal went down) or failing to make the smart read at the point, things seemed to get worse. 

In the latest episode of Hockey Night in New York, former Islander Rob Schremp spoke about a plethora of topics, including how the Islanders could improve their power play.

"Puck distribution. The timing on it. The passes, etc.," Schremp said. "With the power play, it's a chess match, and it's a bit of an art. It's really important, the what and the why and the when. The puck distributions got to be smart and timed properly."

Schremp continued: "That's when it goes sour. You start making some bad decisions, turning the puck over. You find yourself breaking out a lot. Once you start doing that, the group starts losing confidence, and then they start shifting players in and out of units. It's tricky, so it's really important that the puck distribution and how you are attacking the goalie, so to speak. I think it's super important to understand when to attack the goaltender."

The Islanders had Anders Lee as the net-front presence on the top unit, with Jean-Gabriel Pageau as the bumper. The second unit showcased Zach Parise (not sure if he is coming back) at the net, with Kyle Palmieri in the bumper.

Both units have players that can get to the net and gain inside position.

However, the Islanders' issue wasn't always finishing those chances in front but getting pucks on goal from the point.

Most of the power play issues stemmed from playing on the perimeter, making pass after pass. Even if the Islanders were setting up for the one-time shot, those weren't hitting the target at a high enough rate. 

"I find a lot of power plays are talking about the structure of it, like the 1-3-1 or overload," Shremp said. "What we don't talk a lot about is, like, let's just focus on when to attack the goaltender. And that should be a main core value to the power play because it doesn't always have to be perfect.

"I think the NHL does great with the net cam from behind. When you watch a power play, you'll see like 3-4 opportunities where you are like, 'Aw man, you should have shot it.' If you zoom in and focus, the player with the puck didn't even look at the net. So what that tells me right away is that there's a missing mentality of attacking the goaltender, attacking the net, and that's important."

Fun fact: The Islanders last two power-play goals came off Sebastian Aho wrist shots that were deflected in front.

Sometimes keeping things simple just works. And when a team like New York doesn't have an Alex Ovechkin or a Steven Stamkos, that's how it has to be. 

If the Islanders being on the man advantage remains an advantage for their opponents like it was this past season, the Islanders will be looking up at more than seven teams, and you know what that means. 

Join Stefen Rosner's New York Islanders page on Bunches, a new app that connects sports fans. Also, you can listen to Rosner talk Islanders hockey on Hockey Night in New York with co-host Sean Cuthbert Sunday nights at 8 PM ET during the season.