Barzal says NY Islanders must match other team's compete level on special teams

Three days off in the middle of an NHL season is rare, and even though the New York Islanders have had to sit with two consecutive losses and being below NHL. 500, the break in game action has allowed them time to get full practices in to work on their league-worst special teams units.

For Mathew Barzal, the reps in practice have let him get his legs and lungs back to where they need to be after returning to the lineup after missing 21 games last Sunday vs. Chicago. When asked about what the team worked on to improve their 32nd-ranked power play, Barzal said it came down to two things: Simplicity and competitiveness.

Barzal says NY Islanders must match other team's compete level on special teams

"Puck movement, bringing pucks to the net," said Barzal on Friday. "Simplicity, at this point, is what we need, not trying to be crazy, having some set plays and running off of that." After finishing a respectable 18th in power play % last season, the Islanders have only converted on 12.1% of their chances with the man advantage this season. While their 5v5 numbers remain strong, no team can overcome consistent ineptitude on special teams, where many games are won and lost.

"I think the other thing would be compete level, Barzal added. "You see Carolina's PK, when you're out there on the PK you're competing as hard as you can, maybe 110%, right? So as guys on the PP, we got to match that compete level. I think that's an emphasis we gotta work on."

The Islanders do their best to insist that special teams hasn't become a mental block for them, much as holding third period leads has over the last two seasons. Heading into tonight's game vs. Toronto, we'll see if the team operates the power play more on instincts and avoid trying to be too fancy or too perfect to get shots on net consistently.