In Tuesday's 1-0 shutout win over the Arizona Coyotes, while playing four aside, there was a play late in the second period, allowing for the New York Islanders to get on an odd-man rush. We dive into the play in the latest Islanders Breakdown.

EAST MEADOW, NY -- The transition game was something that the New York Islanders lacked in 2022-23. It's something that needed to improve if the Islanders wanted to stay competitive in a tough Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference.

When people think about transitioning, they think of raw speed, and all four of the Islanders' forward lines have players who can skate, given last season's acquisitions. 

However, it starts with the play in the defensive zone, followed by quick thinking from defensemen or deep forwards to get the puck up to teammates and hit them in stride, where they can turn that speed into momentum.

In Tuesday's 1-0 shutout win over the Arizona Coyotes, while playing four aside, there was a play late in the second period that we will be honing in on.

After Sebastian Aho scooped up a loose puck after a board battle along the left half-wall, he changed directions and made an outstanding board pass that Jean-Gabriel Pageau was able to skate into, leading to a 2-on-1 rush with Pierre Engvall:

Here's a frame-by-frame of the play:

Following Thursday's practice, I caught up with Aho, Pageau, and Engvall to discuss this particular breakout. 

In the first part of this play, Aho appears to change his initial game plan quickly, and here's why. 

"The guy was cheating a little behind the net," Aho said. "I mean, to be fair, it's the most common play that I would go behind the net there. But I saw him cheat pretty good."

While Aho quickly read that situation, Pulock created a few more seconds for him to make the best play he could.

"He picked the one guy and told me that I had more time than I thought," Aho said. "Because, when you're in the corner, there's four or five guys around you. It's tough to see where everyone is and make a play from that, so it's a lot of help to just have someone to tell you to relax, and you have more time."

That extra second or two allowed Aho to find Pageau, who he says was calling for it the whole time. 

"I think I heard Pageau from the right side," Aho said. "I just trusted that he made a good call [for the pass] and then put the puck there and tried to join them. 

As much as Pageau said he called for it, he gave all the credit to Aho. 

"He's battling in the corner. I know, he's got good body position on the puck and he's creating that separation, steals the park, and then I know right away that he's looking for offense and looking for his options," Pageau told The Hockey News. "And I thought I'd give him a little yell, but I think he saw me before, too. 

"He made a great backhand pass there."

The pass was the key to everything in this play because if the pass lands in Pageau's skates or is behind him, then it slows everything down, likely allowing a Coyote or two to get back in time. 

"Ia thought it was a great play to give me space, to keep my speed on the puck," Pageau said. "And he is definitely one of the top guys to pass the puck and knows where to [put the puck' so that your partner or your teammate isn't in trouble."

Engvall, who likely would have received the outlet pass had Aho gone behind the net, saw how quickly his fellow Swede tricked the Coyotes and acted accordingly. 

"He obviously made a really good play, and I think he tricked everyone," Engvall told THN. "It was really quick. I just all of a sudden saw Pageau had it on his tape, and I had a step on my guy, and we were on the 2-on-1, and the defenseman just touched it. It was going to land on my tape."

It's essential for defensemen to be deceptive on the breakout plays. Pageau noted that Aho's deceiving abilities are why he's at the point on the second power-play unit. 

"To create some room for your teammates, you need some deception, and he's great at it," Pageau said. "I think that's why he's on the power play also, to create that deception to fool the opponent, faking the shot or passing it. Sometimes, you don't know what's coming, and he's hard to read.

"Not for us because we know him, but he's definitely hard to read for the other guys."

Miss our breakdown following the Islanders' 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on opening night? We have you covered below.