NY Islanders Third Line Quietly Effective in Back-to-Back Wins

Boring Offense, Strong Defense

The Cizikas-Pageau-Holmstrom line has not scored a 5v5 goal since it united against the San Jose Sharks this past Saturday night. The Isles haven't dominantly outshot their opposition with them on the ice either, only putting eight shots on goal for versus seven against. Still, they've been dominant against their opponents in terms of puck possession, and scoring chance suppression.

With the third line on the ice during the last two games, the Islanders have controlled 69.57% of total shot attempts and 78.95% of the total scoring chances. For reference, with the Lee-Horvat-Barzal first line on the ice, the Islanders have owned 65.43% of total shot attempts, and 70.58% of the scoring chances. Those numbers alone - when compared with the Barzal group's - are impressive, but they lack context and as such can be deceptive.

The Barzal line has played against the tougher competition, routinely facing top-pair defensemen while the Pageau group gets to share the ice with the second or third-pair Ds. The Barzal group has also posted 2.13 xGF in the last two games, which absolutely dwarfs the Pageau trio's 0.92.