Islanders D Speak: Shortening Bench, Link To Late-Game Struggles

In this exclusive, our Stefen Rosner sits down with New York Islanders defensemen Noah Dobson, Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, Scott Mayfield, and Samuel Bolduc to discuss playing time and how it's impacted blown leads.

EAST MEADOW, NY -- New York Islanders head coach Lane Lambert has asked a lot from his defensemen through the opening 10 games of the season. 

With Scott Mayfield missing seven games after the season-opener and Adam Pelech missing most of the last two games, certain players on the backend have had to step up immensely. 

Noah Dobson, who seems to be excelling in a more prominent role, has played, on average, five more minutes than he did in 2022-23 (20:23-25:04). 

Ryan Pulock has averaged four more minutes per game (20:54-24:56), while Alexander Romanov has played about two and a half more minutes (19:27-21:42). 

Pelech has seen a "drop-off" in his average time on ice, with his 20:33 TOI a bit flawed given that he only played 3:24 against the Washington Capitals before his injury. 

These numbers make sense, given that the minutes allotted to Mayfield, who usually plays around 20 minutes a night for New York,

Sebastian Aho's minutes have dropped from 16:46 per game to an even 14:00, One reason is that Aho played with Dobson last season, meaning more minutes, while the other reason is who his defense partner has been this season: Samuel Bolduc. 

Bolduc has played in eight of the 10 games and has averaged just 6:05 a night, which means that the other defensemen have had to make up for his lack of playing time on top of filling the shoes of injured players. 

It's one thing to limit minutes. It's another thing to take out a defenseman from the rotation in the third period in games where the Islanders are trying to hold on for two points while key players are already out of the lineup. 

In six games this season on home ice for Bolduc, in which the Islanders have blown leads in four of them, the youngster has sat for the final 10 or more minutes a whopping five times: 

He sat for the final:

-12:26 against Arizona

-16:45 against Colorado

-11:42 against Ottawa

-12:05 against Detroit

-19:24 against Carolina 

The Hockey News asked Islanders head coach Lane Lambert to explain his decision-making with Bolduc and why he can't seem to garner minutes late in games. 

"I think it's a little bit of shorting it with the lead, but again, as we go forward, he has to play more, especially if Pelech or Mayfield is out."

THN then asked if that's the case, if the lack of minutes is a trust issue in Bolduc in bigger situations.

"It's certainly him getting the opportunity to earn that trust in those situations, moving forward."

Lambert is in charge of giving Bolduc the opportunity. 

"As a player, you never want to sit, of course. But, I mean, it's part of the process," Bolduc said. "You're going to have to earn every minute, so I just have to stay positive, try to find ways, and everything should be fine."

Out of 183 defensemen to play in eight games or more this season, Bolduc has played the fewest minutes per game at 8:32 ATOI. At No. 182 is Edmonton Oilers' Philip Broberg, averaging 11:12. 

The message to Bolduc from Lambert has remained the same. 

"The same as he's always said," Bolduc said. "Be a little more assertive. I guess that's probably the main focus, mine too."

Here's the breakdown in minutes amongst the Islanders' blue line so far:

From the outside viewpoint, the Islanders' backend is getting taxed too much, especially late in games, and it has to be playing a role in the blow leads, right?

"I personally don't feel a correlation, myself," Noah Dobson told THN. "I don't know if other guys do or not. But yeah, I think everyone's capable back there when they need to be logging some [extra] minutes. Obviously, it's still early in the year, as well. So, if this was the end of the year, it might be a little different story. 

"But, right now, everyone's still relatively fresh. It's early. We had a long offseason of training, but yeah, it definitely can play a role."

Now, each game provides unique circumstances, which Pulock pointed out. 

"I think it depends on the night," Pulock told THN. "A night where you have a lot of PKs (like against Ottawa) are harder minutes. It takes a toll. Some nights aren't as taxing. I mean, obviously, as a player, you want to play as much as possible, and you want to play more minutes and be engaged in the game all game long, but yeah, I think there is a benefit when you can even it out more."

As for the blown leads on home ice, Pulock thinks it's a mental issue, not a physical one from the added minutes. 

"I think that's just a bit of a mindset thing that we need to clean up," Pulock said. "I think it's a bit of a situation where we have to manage the game a little better at certain times and maybe play a little more aggressively at certain times. But yeah, I don't think you can pinpoint that on one thing or another."

Pelech, who has averaged 20:33 of ice time per game over his nine years in the NHL, loves the extra ice time. 

"Not even thinking about it, to be honest. Even if it's a lot of minutes if you're in a rhythm, it's a good feeling," Pelech said. "And sure, it's a little more taxing, but you don't really think about it at the time. It's harder to play less and to not be in a rhythm because even though you're fresh, it's tough to play five minutes, three shifts, or whatever."

For Romanov, an extra few minutes isn't the reason for blowing leads. 

"I feel like if we play 25 minutes, we play pretty solid," Romanov said. "Shit happens. We make a mistake, too. Like last game. Tying goal on me. But it's not because of 25 minutes. It just happened."

The Islanders need to clean up their act in the defensive zone if they want to accumulate multiple points a night rather than just one. But it's a five-man effort, not just two men.

"I'll tell you this. The more time you spend in your zone, the more taxed your defense gets, regardless of whether you're playing five or six defensemen, whatever it might be, whatever the minutes are," Lambert said. "You have penalty killing sometimes where guys play more than others. You have power play sometimes, where guys play more than others. But there's no question that not exiting our zone does put some stress on our guys."

Here's more from myself and Sean Cuthbert on Hockey Night in York this past Sunday about this very issue: