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New York Islanders Hopes and Dreams for 2016

Oct 13, 2016; New York, NY, USA; New York Islanders center John Tavares (91) prepares for a face-off against the New York Rangers during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 13, 2016; New York, NY, USA; New York Islanders center John Tavares (91) prepares for a face-off against the New York Rangers during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 26, 2016; Raleigh, NC, USA; New York Islanders head coach Jack Capuano looks on from the bench against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. The New York Islanders defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in the overtime. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 26, 2016; Raleigh, NC, USA; New York Islanders head coach Jack Capuano looks on from the bench against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. The New York Islanders defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in the overtime. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports /

A Competent Power Play

The Islanders powerplay last season was bad. Not terrible. But bad enough to have an efficiency rating that hit in the bottom half of the league at 18.3%.

My hope for this season is for this power play to click somewhere around 20%. It’s not a big claim, eight teams hit efficiency ratings of 20% or more.

But for the Islanders to hit this elite power play efficiency they need to sort out their PP strategy. And that means keeping it simple. Work on the basics, like getting shots to the net.

Must Read: What About The Power Play

We’ve seen a few flashes of what the Islanders can do on the PP with Mathew Barzal. His work with the puck along the wall just seems to suck in defenders, opening up pockets of space for players like Lee or Bailey upfront.

But that hope was short-lived. With Barzal in the pressbox for the Isles home opener, the powerplay flatlined. It went 0/4 against the Ducks. Bringing the Islanders efficiency to a woeful 11%.

OK, sure it’s only three games in the season so this 11% isn’t going to stick around all season. But we can already see the inefficiencies starting to show up again.

My hope isn’t to have the league’s best power play or even a record-breaking powerplay. I just want one that’s efficient one out of five times. Becuase the playoffs are where an efficient power play counts the most.

The Islanders have serious intentions for the conference finals. But to get anywhere the Isles need to have a powerplay that can figure out zone entries.

Next: Over/Under on a Third 100 Point Season

I know some of these hopes might be a bit outlandish, Barzal for Calder?! But that’s what fans do. We believe in the irrationality of the sport. And we dream big regardless of the reality of the situation.

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