The wholesale changes to both power-play units instigated by Patrick Roy on Wednesday were a long time coming for an Islanders club which took its worst-in-class special teams from a year ago and somehow regressed even further.
Given that John MacLean, who ran the power play under the previous administration, is still in the same role, this is likely a mere coincidence.
But it is noteworthy nonetheless that since Roy’s takeover behind the bench last January, the Islanders have converted at five-on-four at an abysmal 15.78 percent, and came into Wednesday’s match doing so this season at 12.7 percent, ranked 31st ahead of only that night’s opponent, the Bruins.
So, yes, something had to change.
There was not a declared top unit, with Roy indicating he has no preconceived plan as to which one will get more time or if there will be an equal split.
Ryan Pulock quarterbacked one unit with Noah Dobson and Simon Holmstrom on either half-wall, Jean-Gabriel Pageau at the bumper and Anders Lee at the net.
Dennis Cholowski quarterbacked the other with Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson on the walls, Bo Horvat at the bumper and Maxim Tsyplakov at the net.
Dobson, who has been the PP1 quarterback pretty much uninterrupted since the 2021-22 season, told The Post he believes it’s the first time he’s played anywhere else on the power play since juniors.
“It’s definitely different,” he said. “A lot different. I think you just try and be adaptable as a player. Different looks, you’re getting pucks at different times, different spots. I think you just try to be as adaptable as possible, whether you’re up top or on the half-wall.
“I know sometimes in the game there’s interchange and you end up in a spot you’re not in normally. So I think you gotta be comfortable playing all the spots.”
The issues with the power play have been like chicken pox: all over. The Islanders don’t get pucks to the net. When they do, it’s rarely a good look because they don’t get the penalty kill moving side to side.
When they lose a faceoff or fail to retrieve a puck down low, it effectively ends the power play a lot of the time because they struggle to get it back into the zone.
“We’re gonna have to be patient because it’s new positioning for some of those guys,” Roy said of the new look. “But the main [thing] is having Bo in the bumper with Palmsy and Nellie. Hopefully they’ll find ways to create some offense and continue to create chances because the chances are there. It’s just a matter to finish. It’s nice to create something, but you gotta finish at some point.”
The Islanders have gotten chances on the power play, but not anywhere near an overwhelming number.
Per Natural Stat Trick, they’re 21st in expected goals for per 60 minutes on the power play and 21st in high-danger chances for per 60 on the power play.
So they are underperforming, but not so much that merely finishing at a normal rate would solve all their problems.
“I think [it’s about] simplifying things,” Palmieri said. “For us it’s really about getting pucks to the net and finding second opportunities. For all the pretty power plays that are in the top five, top 10, a lot of the goals are still rebounds and broken plays and things like that. So it doesn’t have to be picture-perfect that makes its way out to the video. It’s really about keeping it simple and delivering pucks to the net.”
Fixing this power play, though, feels anything but simple.