Isaiah George Talk On Hockey Night in New York One of the main reasons for the New York Islanders [https://rtb.thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/optimum-subscribing-islanders-fans-lose-msg-channel-due-to-contract-dispute]' struggles this season has been the performance of their special teams units. Although the team's penalty kill against the Toronto Maple Leafs showed marked improvement, the power play went scoreless on their lone opportunity, giving them nine straight games, 17 straight opportunities, without a goal on the man advantage. Following the contest, the Islanders' power play success rate sits at 11.3%, and their penalty kill success stands at 63.9%: both are last in the NHL. The struggles of Patrick Roy's team on that front in his first full season are a sign of a troubling trend dating back to last season. Roy was hired as head coach of the Islanders on Jan. 20, 2024, and since that point, the Islanders' power play went 19-for-108, finishing with a 17.6% success rate. That mark was the sixth-worst in the entire league to finish the season. On the penalty kill, the Islanders' struggles continued dating back to last season. Following Roy's hiring, the Islanders had the worst penalty kill to finish the year, finishing with a 69.0% success rate with a goal allowed on 26-of-84 attempts by the opposition. Granted, the Islanders certainly had their share of injuries during some of these stretches. Early this season, the team faced the absences of Mathew Barzal, Anthony Duclair, Mike Reilly, Scott Mayfield, and Alexander Romanov, which can be cited as reasons for the lower overall numbers. Last year, Adam Pelech and Sebastian Aho each missed time early in the season, but both returned before Roy assumed his role. However, Casey Cizikas missed the first few games of his tenure, returning on Feb. 8. Although Kyle MacLean filled his role well after getting called up, a change in personnel caused the units to face a shakeup. However, despite the personnel changes on the ice, the names behind the bench are also certainly part of the problem. MacLean hasn't had an effective power play with this group since being hired. Albelin, after years away from the NHL game coaching since 2009-10, hasn't brought relief to their defensive failures or penalty kill. Benoit Desrosiers, in his first full season as an NHL assistant coach is the only man behind the bench that has helped in some facet of the game, with the Islanders winning a league-high 55.4%. He has a say in the penalty kill, but the belief is that Albelin is running the show. Even with injuries and changes in players and coaches, the special teams can never truly piece it all together. Even if the team tries new things to determine the root causes, the Islanders' struggles on that front were the main reason for their struggles for stretches this season. As the calendar flips to 2025, special teams improvement will need to be a resolution for the Islanders if they want to get themselves back into the Stanley Cup Playoff picture.
