Stefen Rosner on Morning Cuppa Hockey Talking Islanders SEATTLE -- The New York Islanders were buzzing in the offensive zone in Thursday night's 5-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. Despite the ups and downs through the first 17 games of the season (7-6-4), the Islanders have done a strong job in the possession game, something that head coach Patrick Roy continued to cite as a positive, even when the results were losses. However, one thing that stood out in that win was the aggressiveness of the defenseman. On numerous occasions, the blue-liners could be seen below the dots, even behind the net, making plays. Grant Hutton's decision to circle behind the net led to the Islanders' third goal of the game, courtesy of Pierre Engvall, which served as the eventual game-winner: "As you've seen more this year, we've been more aggressive and more involved, and I think you need that," Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock told The Hockey News. "You need all five guys in the o-zone rolling around. That's what creates confusion. But I think some nights there's more space for it than others, depending on how teams defend. "I thought against Vancouver, there was a little more space at times and we were able to try to take advantage of that, keep more pucks alive in the o-zone, and spend more time there." Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEwNzQ0NTcwNzg1MzEwNjk3/usatsi_24764399-1.jpg] While jumping in on the rushes and getting below the dots is important, it also can prove costly if players get caught up the ice. We've seen that a tad too much from the Islanders this season, with forwards failing to cover the defense, leading to costly goals against them. But against Vancouver, that didn't happen. And that's because they protected the puck and made the smart plays. "It's not turning the puck over in bad spots," Pulock told THN. "When we're going down, we have an F3 forward (highest forward in the offensive zone) protecting us. You need to be on the same page. You need to be moving together. And I think even throughout this whole year, our forwards have done a really good job of coming high when we've been able to go down. "I think it just allows you to keep more zone time when the D can be active on that puck and keep more pucks alive." The Islanders' defense had four points on five goals, including two tallies from the blue line for the first time this season. Bo Horvat fed Scott Mayfield at the point for the second goal of the game and first of his season. Then Noah Dobson sealed the deal with an empty-net tally for his first goal of the season. "We want our D to be involved, offensively and defensively," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said. "We talk a lot about our breakouts, making sure we got good breakouts, and last game was really good. There's two situations. There's a situation where we break out from the forecheck, and there's a breakout coming out of the D zone coverage. We talk a lot about those things, and we want to be good, but offensively, yes, we want our D to be involved, especially following the rush, but also offensively, not afraid to come down and help out. "I think our guys have been doing really well. It was probably the best game I've seen Cholowski and Hutton play. They were very good against these guys last night." Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEwNzQ0NTcwNzg1MzEwNjk3/usatsi_24764399-1.jpg] With five key players out of the lineup, including two-thirds of the Islanders' top line, production from the blue line is paramount, especially when the forwards have a hard time finding time and space to get shots off. Before Thursday's win, the only blueliner with a goal was Dennis Cholowski, who had two. Dobson led the blue line with six assists. It was imperative that the defense help create more than they had in the offensive zone, and their latest win over Vancouver should give the backend some extra confidence to get more involved. Like Pulock and Roy said, it depends on the night, and how much the other team is willing to give, but if the Islanders make that part of their game plan and move the puck the way they can, that will create newfound opportunities to skate the puck down low and garner higher-quality chances right in front of goal. If the Islanders can make that more prominent in their game, with the way the forwards are clicking right now, this is a team that can not only continue to have success on this road trip but also come home feeling extremely good about where they are at and welcome injured players back to a better situation than before they went down.
