The New York Islanders showed off new power-play units at Tuesday's practice as head coach Lane Lambert and his power-play personnel discussed the changes.
The New York Islanders have a power-play problem. And with no games until Thursday, they need to get something going with the man advantage.
It's not just an area of the game the Islanders need clicking in the postseason if they get there.
With the Islanders no longer controlling their destiny with four games to go, a power-play goal could be the difference between vying for a Stanley Cup or looking for a tee time.
The Islanders power play, the third worst in the NHL at 16 percent, has not come through in their last 11 tries.
It's obvious why the power play has struggled since Mathew Barzal went down.
He's the player that has shown the skill to carry the puck over the blue line. Since he's gone down, they have yet to find an answer, operating at just 10.6 percent, five for 47.
"We have people on the team that can bring the puck in, you know?" Islanders head coach Lane Lambert said following Tuesday's practice.
"Mat--He's our guy. Edmonton gives it to McDavid and things like that, and they just have that innate ability to do that kind of thing. So, we have to make sure that we find a way to work together to get it into the zone."
Since losing Barzal, the Islanders have struggled to generate power plays of their own, with 47 opportunities, the second-fewest in the NHL over that span. As mentioned, they've scored just five.
"We have to win more battles on the power play," Lambert said. "We get into the zone, and they can't clear the puck out...It's as simple as that."
Over the weekend, back-to-back losses, the Islanders went 0-5 on the power play.
"There's been games where we've had great looks that haven't gone in, and it kind of drags on, but it just takes one puck to go in, and things can start to click, and you kind of build on that, and get the confidence," Noah Dobson said.
Lambert is well aware that he and power-play coach John MacLean need to find a way to turn their man advantage into an actual advantage.
"We've kept the unit together for a while, and it hasn't produced, so we had to do something, and that's what we're gonna do," Lambert said.
Here were their changes at Tuesday's practice:
PP: (Net-Bumper-RW-LW-QB)
PP1: Lee-Pageau-Horvat-Pulock-Bolduc/Aho
PP2: Parise-Palmieri-Engvall-Nelson-Dobson
Bo Horvat has played in the bumper and on the left side so far as a member of the Islanders, but now he is in the one-time spot, a new spot for him.
"I was pretty much in the bumper the whole time (in Vancouver)," Horvat told The Hockey News. "I haven't played over there in a while, but I've watched a lot of good players, you know, J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson over there a lot. Just trying to take little tidbits from them."
Horvat has just one goal over his last five games -- an empty-netter -- and has not scored a power-play goal since Feb. 11. He came over from Vancouver with 11 power-play goals.
"You still have to have that shoot-first mentality, especially when you have that opportunity to shoot the puck, you gotta let it go," Horvat said. "But I mean, it's nice to have a righty there in the slot with Pageau if I don't have that and to also have Lee as a lefty down low.
"So it's gonna be nice to have those two options for me as well."
Horvat shared that he had nothing to do with playing in a new power-play position.
"That's kind of their decision to change things up. Obviously, they wanted to see all that today. Practicing it went pretty well," Horrvat said. "And hopefully, it translates to the game."
THN asked Lambert what he thought Horvat could bring in that spot.
"That's the thing about it, is that power plays are generated to move around," Lambert said. "And whether he's in that spot or on the other side, it remains to be seen.
"But guys who play on the power play have to use their instincts as well. It's not just about, 'I go to this spot, or you go to this spot,' so we'll see what happens there, but he can certainly shoot."
Zach Parise spoke with THN and was very honest about the power play.
"Our power play has got to score -- big goals, timely goals-- and we've been missing that, you know?" Parise said. "Kind of important situations.
"So, I think there's definitely areas where we can all look at and see where we can all be better individually and be a little more cohesive out there."
Like with any individual player going through a slump, could the mental side of the game be taking its toll on the units?
"Sometimes it could be. You're squeezing the stick a little bit, got the whole crowd yelling shoot -- they can't see what we're looking at--but it's fine," Parise said with a smile.
"I think sometimes we can put each other in better spots with the puck. Sometimes it really comes down to putting the next guy in a good position to shoot or giving him a good puck so he can make the next play. If we do that in the next four games, I think it'll help us."
The Islanders may not have power-play snipers like Alex Ovechkin or Steven Stamkos, but that doesn't mean New York doesn't have the weapons to succeed.
"All the guys in the room that are on the units have the ability to be good players on the power play," Dobson said. We just need to go out there and execute."