The New York Islanders are still alive for one reason and one reason only...okay maybe a few reasons. But the biggest reason is their ability to slow down the Carolina Hurricanes, via their success in the face-off dot.
RALEIGH -- The New York Islanders are still alive for one reason and one reason only...okay maybe a few reasons.
Goals are important, as well as stopping goals, but the reason New York is headed back to Raleigh trying to force a Game 6 is because of their ability to slow down the Carolina Hurricanes' attack.
Whether the Hurricanes are creating chances in transition, like we saw in Game 3 on two of their three goals that got Ilya Sorokin pulled, or the back-breaking goal in Game 2 coming off the forecheck, Rod Brind'Amour's team has found different ways to dominate offensive-zone possession.
"I think we just have to focus on trying to get off to a good start," Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri said ."They come out hard in their building, but we definitely have to be ready though. They'll come out hard to start."
Well, how can the Islanders slow them down from the get-go?
The answer: a strong start in the face-off dot.
In Game 1, a 3-1 loss, the Hurricanes won 59 percent of their draws, 57 percent of their offensive zone draws, and 56 percent of their defensive zone draws, counteracting the Islanders' offensive zone chances.
In Game 2, a 5-3 loss, the Hurricanes clicked replay, winning 59 percent of their draws yet again, doing even better in the O-zone with a success rate of 68 percent and a 57 percent face-off percentage in the D-zone.
Things changed in that category in Game 3, with the Islanders winning 60 percent of their draws, winning 74 percent in the O-zone, but just 42 percent of their D-zone draws.
Still, the Islanders lost 3-2, which put them on the brink of elimination.
Then came Game 4, where the Islanders DOMINATED in the face-off dot in a 3-2 double-overtime win.
Led by Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who won 19 of 23 draws (82.6%), the Islanders won 68 percent of their face-offs.
The Islanders won 64 percent of their O-zone draws, but what really counteracted the Hurricanes' success was winning 71 percent in the D-zone draws, which really limited the Hurricanes' possession numbers.
"If you start with the puck, especially in the offensive zone, that gives you puck possession, obviously," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said. "But even in the defensive zone, sometimes you end up, and you ice the puck at the end of a shift. It's nice to win that draw and then walk and get the red line, dump it in, and bring fresh guys on the ice, so that's also very important."
Because of the Hurricanes' forecheck, the Islanders -- their defenseman in particular -- do not have much time to make plays in an effort to cleanly break the puck out.
Winning the defensive zone face-offs like they did in Game 4 allowed for an extra few seconds, which changed everything for the Islanders.
"It makes a difference. You're starting with a puck. With their pressure, when you can start with the puck and not allow them to get into their forecheck and stuff, it makes a difference," Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson said. "And our centers -- I'm not sure the numbers, but I think it was pretty crazy. You watch practice every day. They're working on it. So it's nice to see them get rewarded, and it makes a big difference in the game."
The Islanders were able to take a 2-1 lead early in the third period of Game 4 off an offensive zone face-off:
"If you look at the power play goal in the third, we win a face-off, and we put a puck on the net within like 5 to 10 seconds," Dobson said. "So just little things like that, but it definitely plays a big part."
Fellow defenseman Mike Reilly said the extra time in the defensive zone off a face-off win is a game-changer, especially for their confidence.
"If you're winning a lot of draws, eventually, you're going to get confident with the puck. You're going to feel it more, and you're going to get more looks," Reilly told The Hockey News. And in the offensive zone, if you're not winning them, then it's going to lead to less possession time. Our centermen were great, and that's why it seems like a pretty simple formula."
The NHL game at ice level is pretty fast and Reilly felt like he had way more time in Game 4 to make plays because of the face-off success.
"Yeah, I feel like there was a lot more (time). Whether you're running a play or not, you have just a half-second time around, maybe a little bit more. You start feeling the puck a little bit, and you just feel a little bit more comfortable with that. So that's huge. It's a unit of five to win the draw. And they gave us a little bit of confidence for sure that we can do a lot better job getting the puck out of the zone than we did early on in the series."
For forwards, they could spend their entire shift trying to get the puck back after losing a draw.
"It's an added added element of possession," Islanders captain Anders Lee told THN. "You start at each draw or after each whistle. It doesn't feel as important, but when you grab that puck, you instantly have the advantage, and you're not wasting 30 seconds of your shift just getting back."
Puck drop for Game 5 is coming your way at 7:30 PM ET on MSGSN and TNT.