Islanders go back to basics with practices before facing Panthers
Islanders new head coach Patrick Roy during practice at Northwell Health Ice Center in January. Credit: Howard Schnapp
SUNRISE, Fla. – The Islanders take the ice for game No. 72 in a season that likely will end with them missing the playoffs for the second time in three years.
But the two days of practice that led up to Thursday night’s match against the playoff-bound Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena amounted to a back-to-basics refresher on getting traffic to the net, winning one-on-one battles and special-teams play.
Too little, too late? The Islanders did not think so.
“I feel like that’s part of the mental side,” Brock Nelson said before the Islanders open a three-game road trip that also includes matches against the Lightning and Flyers, both likely headed to the postseason.
“You’re obviously thinking big picture and scoreboard watching and thinking of a number of different scenarios," Nelson said. "But, at the same time, you can bring yourself back to just going out there and competing and working hard. That will set yourself up for success in the games and you go from there.”
The Islanders open play on Thursday six points out of a playoff spot and in a 1-6-1 skid that spiraled them down the standings.
They were 2-for-26 (7.7%) on the power play during those eight games and 14-of-19 (73.7%) on the penalty kill.
The Devils’ Kaapo Kahkonen earned his fourth career shutout with 36 saves in Sunday’s 4-0 loss at UBS Arena despite the struggling goalie bringing a bloated 3.81 goals-against average and sub-par .894 save percentage into that match.
So the Islanders worked hard on Tuesday and Wednesday at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow at getting bodies to the crease and winning physical battles. It’s the same type of work that’s emphasized early in the season.
“We worked hard at our one-on-one battles,” coach Patrick Roy said. “I look forward to seeing how we are going to respond to those one-on-one battles or how we’re going to respond to attacking their net or when they attack our net.
“Every day, the first thing I do is I look at myself in the mirror and see what I can do to help these guys. They are not alone. This is a partnership. I said it from the first day so I’m not going to change it because of where we are in the standings. At times, you need to go back to basics and say, ‘OK, we slipped there, let’s go back to there.’”
Roy, who took over for the fired Lane Lambert on Jan. 20, ran a similar week of practices – four in a row – focusing on fundamentals leading up to the Stadium Series match against the Rangers at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 18. The Islanders lost that outdoor game, 6-5, in overtime but won seven of their next nine.
“It’s bodies to the net, it’s winning our individual battles and coming out with the puck in a lot of different areas,” captain Anders Lee said. “Right now, it’s a lot of simple [expletive], not only the structure but the basics of hockey. The compete and the work ethic.
“It’s more of a reminder. That’s always going to be part of your DNA is the foundation that you have. You go through stretches where it’s there and it’s natural and you don’t have to work on it as much. And then there’s stretches where you need it. We’re in a little bit of that stretch right now, no doubt.”
Roy was just taking advantage of a rare four-day break between games.
“It’s good to go back to those things at any time,” Cal Clutterbuck said. “Those are the fundamentals of the game and those are the things that need to be sharp in order for you to win, especially at this time of the year when you don’t get that much practice time as the schedule is really busy.”
Notes & quotes: Clutterbuck, the NHL’s all-time leader in hits since the statistic first started being kept in 2005-06, enters Thursday’s match three hits shy of becoming the first player to reach 4,000…Left wing Matt Martin drew into the lineup for Simon Holmstrom after being a healthy scratch against the Devils…Right wing Oliver Wahlstrom and defensemen Samuel Bolduc and Sebastian Aho remain healthy scratches.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
