The Islanders have kept from getting out over their skis about a respectable start on the power play. “Work in progress” still is the phrase of choice, no matter whom you ask.
The progress, though, does feel worthy of acknowledgment, with the 5-on-4 unit converting at a 26.66 percent clip after Saturday’s 5-3 loss to the Lightning at UBS Arena.
At such a small sample, that only equates to 4-for-15, but when the yearslong state of this power play is taken into account, baby steps look like big ones.
Brayden Schenn accepts congratulations from teammates after scoring a power play goal in the second period of the Islanders’ 5-3 loss to the Lightning on Oct. 10, 2206 at UBS Arena. NHLI via Getty Images
“Even from where we were sitting at training camp to where we are today, it definitely feels like it has more chemistry. It’s getting better,” Brayden Schenn told The Post before the match, in which he scored on the man advantage as the power play produced a fourth goal in five games. “We’re getting shown a lot of good stuff. Ultimately, it’s on us to go out there, have the right reads and execute.”
Remember, the Islanders seemed to hit their marks over the first few games of last season on the power play too. There was optimism that things were headed in the right direction then, only to revert to the historical mean as the season wore on, the details lapsed and the Islanders fell into old habits.
That is the tide against which coach Pete DeBoer and assistant coach Rocky Thompson are swimming. The Islanders know they have more than enough talent to score at 5-on-4, with Matthew Schaefer walking the line and Bo Horvat excellent in the bumper, but talent has never been the issue.
If anything, the Islanders have found a way to turn their talent against themselves in years past, so visibly looking for Horvat in the slot at times that opponents haven’t needed to bother defending much else. So far, that’s been different.
“They’re obviously still gonna key in on him, but that’s up on the other four guys to move in different directions, as well as on him to pull out or move to different spots to find lanes,” Schenn said. “They’re not always gonna be slot shots for Bo.”
They can’t be, nor can the Islanders content themselves with where they are now.
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“We’re just trying to add bricks to the foundation of everything we do,” DeBoer said. “Nothing’s perfect or seamless yet, but I’m seeing some good signs in a lot of different areas.”
After missing practice Friday while being evaluated, presumably for a concussion, Horvat played Saturday.
“Anytime the principal point of contact’s the head, it’s always scary. I feel fine,” said Horvat, who tallied an assist in the loss. “The right side of my face hurts a little bit, but other than that, I feel pretty good.”
The Islanders, in partnership with Tunnel to Towers, paid off the mortgage of a Manhasset family, the McHales.
Martin McHale, who died in 2012, was a 9/11 first responder with the FDNY.