The Islanders' power play went 0-for-3 in DeAngelo's debut.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- If the New York Islanders are going to find a way to sneak into the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs and erase their current six-point deficit in the wild-card race, their power play will need to start scoring.
That was a significant reason the Islanders signed Tony DeAngelo, a known power-play specialist, on Friday before trading for Scott Perunovich on Monday.
In DeAngelo's season debut, a 3-2 overtime win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, the power play went 0-for-3 with just two shots on goal.
However, DeAngelo and Mathew Barzal were clearly on similar wavelengths, and they conversed with one another rather often.
"I think he's just got great poise," Islanders forward Mathew Barzal told The Hockey News. "He's clearly run the power plays in the past. So he's got that touch. He's just able to drag guys and open lanes up.
"He's got good deception. Anytime as a winger, I'd go to the point on him, and I'd always be a little bit worried that he was gonna sell shot and get around you. But he just plays hard. He seems like he's a guy that steps up for his teammates. He's got great offensive instincts."
DeAngelo kept things simple in his answer.
"I told him, I'm going to get him the puck as much as I can," DeAngelo said. "He is one of, if not the best in the league as far as puck control, what he's able to do with it.
"Obviously, we wanted to finish, and I thought it was a good start, but now let's get to finishing."
The Islanders power play sits at 13.6%, fifth-worst in the NHL. The penalty kill has turned the corner, going 16 for 18 so far in January, the second-best mark in the NHL since Jan. 1.
The team has played really well at 5-on-5, so the last thing left is for the power play to start producing, and DeAngelo and Barzal will have to be the catalysts for that.
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