The Florida Panthers came at teams in waves. They had three forward lines that could score and score in bunches. The Panthers had no problem firing 40 shots on the net to win games and pressure the opposing defense all the way to their second Stanley Cup title in as many years.
There’s a classic debate about whether teams should value possession and high-danger shots or shot volume and scoring chances. The Carolina Hurricanes faced the Panthers in a clash of these two offensive philosophies. The Panthers came out on top, and they’ve become the standard in the NHL, making it seem like the rest of the league will try to emulate them.
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The New York Islanders, especially under head coach Patrick Roy, have become a possession-based team. They value the puck and want to win low-scoring games. That said, the Islanders have an offense that’s capable of speeding things up and becoming a high-pressure one if they want, and they might, considering where the league is heading.
The Argument for a High-Volume Offense
There’s a good chance the league shifts back to possession, and the Islanders will try to win by slowing games down and finding the best shots in the offensive zone. In the NHL, trends come and go, and what is valued one season could be irrelevant the next. That said, it’s hard to ignore how the Panthers played and took over games. Even the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers won games by applying pressure, at least to some degree, and it’s likely that’s where the league is heading.
It’s not just the top teams in the league that are setting the trend. The way players are being developed indicates that more pressure and shot volume are on the way. There’s more skill on the blue line, and defensemen can not only start up the rush but also join it as well to gash the opposition with their speed. Likewise, forwards are coming out of junior hockey with more speed and accurate shots than before, making a shot that isn’t from the high-danger areas a good one regardless. Teams that have the players to play this way are doing so, and more teams are starting to find these players who can play the fast game.
The Islanders are playing catch-up in a league that is continuously evolving. It’s one of the criticisms of the Lou Lamoriello years, as the older general manager (GM) had the Islanders playing the same way while the rest of the league passed them by. With a new GM, they can change how they look philosophically.
Now, it’s easy to look at the roster and say they don’t have the players to play a high-pressure style. As an older team, they won’t keep up. That’s not the case anymore. The Islanders are a younger team and are only getting younger with prospects on the way, making this shift a possibility.
How the Islanders Can Change Offensively
Everything starts with Mathew Barzal leading the way. He’s one of the best skaters in the NHL and takes advantage of open ice. The Islanders can have the offense run through him to unlock a player who hasn’t played in a system that’s allowed him to thrive. To do so, the Islanders must play Barzal on a line with speed. That means Bo Horvat, who by nature is a high-quality shot player, must pivot to play at a fast pace while another good skater joins the top line to keep up.
The Islanders also have a youth movement on the way. Maxim Tsyplakov was on the team last season, and Maxim Shabonov will be this season, and both players are excellent skaters who can play fast. Calum Ritchie is also on the way, and he’s a scorer who can also win with speed.
If Matthew Schaefer is ready from day one, then the Islanders can lean into a high-pressure style offensively. Schaefer is a great all-around defenseman who can move the puck up the ice and skate with NHL-caliber forwards. If he’s ready for the NHL, the Islanders can have an offense that beats teams on the rush and turns defense into offense.
This style won’t help Anders Lee, Anthony Duclair, and Jonathan Drouin, three veterans who don’t have speed. Even Horvat and Kyle Palmieri will struggle in this system as they thrive on valuable shots and waiting for the best look on the net. It’s why the Islanders might play the veterans on the same line and, by default, play two different brands of hockey, a fast pace where they win with pressure in their top-six, while slowing things down and winning with possession in their bottom six.
Does It Make Sense for the Islanders?
Islanders fans will be quick to point out what the team looked like under Lane Lambert. It was a reversal from the Barry Trotz years as the team sped things up and had defensemen join the rush to help out the offense. Lambert wanted the Islanders to play that way, and they did. It came at the cost of defense, and it’s why he was fired halfway through his second season as the head coach.
Roy plays the opposite system. While he wants the Islanders to play fast at times, his goal is to win with defense and by slowing the game down. To win with shot volume, the way the Panthers did last season, there must be a defense in place that can make up for it, and the Islanders don’t have a defense like that.
The thing is, Roy must pivot, or the new GM, Mathieu Darche, will replace him. The league is winning with speed, and the Islanders must keep up. They have the players to win that way, and Roy must lean into it. There will be plenty of games that will require the Islanders to win 6-5, and the way to do so is by playing fast and allowing their youth to make an impact.
Ultimately, the Islanders will need a balanced offense, one that can find the back of the net with both pressure and quality shots. They must prove they can pivot and win with speed, and this is a season where they can do that, especially if Schaefer is in the lineup and making an impact.
