The Islanders liked the way the broke the puck out in Game One, but they know that it can be better in Game Two.
The Islanders liked the way the broke the puck out in Game One, but they know that it can be better in Game Two.
RALEIGH -- When the New York Islanders went back and watched the film following their Game One loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night, not much stood out regarding things that needed change.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyS4icnTjlg[/embed]
On the road, against an elite team, the Islanders held their own and ultimately could have won the game if they had been able to score on their high-danger chances.
When The Hockey News asked Alexander Romanov following Monday's morning skate what the team needed to do better, he was quick to answer.
"Breakouts. Breakout should be better," Romanov said.
With how aggressive Carolina is, there isn't much time for the Islanders' defense on deep forwards to make plays. Once the Hurricanes get into a rhythm of suffocating their opponents, they have the ability to dominate the offensive zone.
Even if the Hurricanes don't find the back of the net, the Islanders are more likely to take a penalty or, if they do get the puck out, take the risk of going for a quick chance, race to get new personnel out there before the Hurricanes cross over the blue line.
The Islanders did a fairly good job with their breakouts in Game One, more so in the second period, where they held the Hurricanes to just six shots and only had five turnovers the entire game.
"I thought we were really good on our breakouts. We made really good decisions. If I look at the turnovers and stuff like this, we didn't have that many, so that's very important," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said. "This is a very good forecheck team, and I thought our tracking was really good. So we need to continue to do those things."
The middle frame was the Islanders' best period of the game, with their breakouts less sharp in the first and third periods.
Brock Nelson told THN how they can be more consistent.
"We need to balance our support. We need to try and create some space for our guys," Nelson said. "We need to make strong hockey reads in terms of pressure by them, possession, and how much space you see our guys' with. So there may be times when it might not be clean, and you need to be down low for a quick little play, and there are times when you think a guy can wheel, push out, and create space and try to get yourself in a space.
"That's one of their main pressing points, I feel like, it's being in our zone, trying to really pinch down and be aggressive. For us, breakouts are a huge part of getting the puck out clean and creating possession on offense."
While there were times in the first and third when New York broke the puck out cleanly, there were also many neutral zone flips.
Those occurred more often after the Hurricanes sustained pressure, whether it was a desperate move to catch their breath and go for a change.
But, as Nelson said, sometimes those flips are calculated.
"Sometimes those flips might be the best play, and it might generate a chance for 50-50 puck for our guys," Nelson said. "And as a center, you have some neutral zone speed and space, so it's just one of those things where that might be the best way to kind of get out your own end to battle out in the neutral zone and try to knock it out a little bit further and try to generate something. Sometimes, it gets a funny balance. That's just the nature of the game, and you'd like to be on the right side of that. And I think he you yourself by coming underneath."
Casey Cizikas added that flipping the puck out puts more pressure on the Hurricanes defense.
"They're a team that wants to get in on the forecheck. They want to create those turnovers and get extended zone time, and that's the way they play. They get down the ice. They're on top of you. Like I said, our defense did an exceptional job of just taking care of the puck. If you get it out of the zone, everybody has to get back out, and then, that gives you time to re-adjust, and there's a lot of good things to build off of."