Stefen Rosner on Morning Cuppa Hockey Talking Islanders EAST MEADOW, NY -- The New York Islanders [https://www.theelmonters.com/] have scored 13 goals at 5-on-5 this season. The top line has scored two of them, one coming from the injured Anthony Duclair, who is out for 4-6 weeks with a lower-body injury. Bo Horvat has one 5-on-5 goal. Mathew Barzal has zero 5-on-5 points. Simon Holmstrom, who is filling Duclair's role, has one 5-on-5 point, an assist which came on a line with Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. It's not from a lack of chances for either three. It's not from a systems failure perspective. It comes down to one thing. "I got to bury my chances. You need your best players to be your best players and produce and be a difference maker every single night," Horvat said. "And I got to start doing that for sure." That's Horvat in a nutshell. He's a player who takes responsibility and blame when things go wrong, even if it's not solely on him. "That's what I love about Bo," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said. "He's a team guy. He's a leader on this team. He knows his place on the team, and what is important is to have chances. Does he know that he needs to produce? He and Barzal know. They're smart guys, and they understand their role in our team. "And they understand the importance of being performers and producing. But they are both working really hard. They both are playing hard for the team right now. They both do a lot of good things, so eventually, I am very confident that they will find the back of the net." Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEwMzMwMzAzNDcyODcwNjA0/usatsi_24596941.jpg] Holmstrom's defense is a huge reason why he's getting the chance up top, and Roy likes what he's seen from No. 10. But on a top line, defense can't be the only thing that a player is doing successfully. Holmstrom has struggled to bury, but the chances he's created keep Roy hopeful. "I like his game more and more. I feel like he's more confident. He gets better the more he's playing [with them]. He's a high draft pick for our team and we do believe in him. And I'm excited to see him play more there, to see how he feels, and really give him that chance to perform on that line." "It's funny how it is a because he's had so many chances 4-on-5, and then, he goes 5-on-5. So I think he just has to have the same mentality," Roy said on Holmstrom, who has had success offensively on the penalty kill over the last year-plus. "I mean, him using his speed and throwing pucks on net...sometimes good things happen that way. "Also, those things also happen sometimes when you're playing with two of our top players. You want to please them. So that's why he needs to find this place, and I'm sure he will. And he's a smart player. He's got a lot of skills, a lot of talent, so I'm very confident that good things gonna happen for him." Barzal has struggled just as much as Horvat and would say the same thing that his linemate said had he been the one in front of us on Tuesday. Horvat wants to be helping Barzal out more, whether it's finishing off feeds or setting up No. 13. There's no belief that what they're doing out there is wrong, so there's no reason to deviate since the chances are there. "You just keep feeding him the puck. He's still gonna get his chances. He's been getting his chances, and I think he's been shooting a little bit more, and it's eventually gonna go in," Horvat said. "It's just a matter of time, but for us, just a matter of bearing down and bearing those opportunities when we got him." Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEwMzMwMzM5MTc0ODUyMTc0/usatsi_24456843.jpg] While Horvat and Barzal were dominant last season without a final piece to their puzzle—the plan was for Duclair to be that guy, but he's out—Holmstrom is a player who needs to finish his chances. "He's been good," Horvat said. "He's so responsible defensively at both ends of the rink and allows Mat and I to do our own thing in the offensive zone and try to create offense. "I think, we can do a lot better job of sustaining a lot more o-zone pressure and not just being one and done for us. I think it's going to be key going forward." The Islanders are playing a weak Anaheim Ducks team on Tuesday night, the first of three games against weaker opponents. No, that means nothing regarding the outcome of the game, but seeing the top line excel, especially Tuesday and build on a potential successful night is key to getting them back to being a weapon for the team.
