• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
New York Islanders

Islanders’ Offensive Woes Boil Down to “Shoot the Puck”

By Jon Zella March 11th, 2019

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

During the New York Islanders’ recent loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, I shouted – and tweeted – “shoot the puck” dozens of times. Normally, I lament the fact that fans yell “shoot” when players appear to be in a good shooting position. As a former player and coach, I understand there’s a different view from the ice that’s not available from the stands or the couch.

Players also have a good idea of when they should shoot, just listen to Andrew Ference in this video. With that said, too often Islanders players are looking to pass first and, when they do get a shot to towards the net, it’s often from the same couple of spots on the ice. I broke down the issues into two sections: generating chances and predictability.

Generating Scoring Chances

During a recent edition of the Steve Dangle Podcast, Rachel Doerrie mentioned a lot important hockey tidbits. One in particular wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but it was a basic, even fundamental, aspect of the game the Islanders have gotten away from this season. On the show, Steve Glynn asked Doerrie about the Carolina Hurricanes “gaming Corsi,” to which she had the following response:

With that in mind, it’s worth diving into some numbers. So far this season, the Islanders are 30th out of 31 teams in shots on goal with 1,936. To compare, most teams in playoff position have well over 2,000. Additionally, the Islanders only have one player in the top-100 in shots on goal – Anders Lee with 176, which ranks 66th in the league.

While the Islanders have a great team shooting percentage (10 percent), many of their players are clearly overachieving. Just take a look at a player like Valtteri Filppula, currently shooting 22.1 percent. The last time he had a shooting percentage around 20, the 2013-14 season with the Tampa Bay Lighting, he had 131 shots on goal and netted 25 goals for a 19.1 percent success rate. While that’s still high, for perspective, this season he has 15 goals on 68 shots and will likely not break the 100-shot plateau.

Not only is he overachieving, it’s unsustainable and, frankly, it’s the type of production that should be coming from the Islanders top-six, not its bottom-six. Unfortunately, Filppula and fellow bottom-six center, Casey Cizikas, who is also shooting at over 20 percent this season, have been the hottest Islanders scorers of late.

Going back to Doerrie’s point, she explains that a lot of coaches, including her example of New Jersey Devils coach John Hynes, tell players to simply get pucks to the net. For some reason, the Islanders just aren’t doing that, and it’s a problem throughout their lineup, though it’s more obvious for some players than others.

Mathew Barzal

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – MARCH 03: Mathew Barzal #13 of the New York Islanders in action against the Philadelphia Flyers during their game at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on March 03, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

This brings us to Mathew Barzal. The speed at which he plays the game is almost unfathomable. His vision is phenomenal and his ability to fend off players while carrying the puck is nearly second to none. The issue with his game, which I hear from Butch Goring nearly every broadcast, is, “he’s gotta shoot the doggone puck.”

All too frequently Barzal comes flying around the opposing team’s net along the the left wing wall, cuts around the top of the circle and either passes or tries to get closer to the net, often losing the puck as defenders collapse down low or his pass is cut off looking for the back door tap-in. Barzal doesn’t always need to shoot to score. It could be just as beneficial to shoot for a rebound, drive the net and hope one of your linemates is in position to generate more chances.

While the philosophy of “quality over quantity” may have worked for coach Barry Trotz in the past, it doesn’t appear to be a long-term solution on Long Island.

New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz

New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Shot Predictability

During the team’s recent 4-5-1 stretch, the shots the Islanders do take have been too predictable, particularly on the power play. They have a few defenders who have great shots, like Johnny Boychuk (149 shots) and Ryan Pulock (144 shots), both of which should be utilized, but are taking a lot of the team’s shots at even strength and on the advantage. Currently, both players rank in the top-five in shots on goal for the Islanders, second and fifth, respectively. To be a bit more clear, Boychuk is actually tied with Barzal for second on the team, which should also tell you something.

Despite the possession time the Islanders tend to have, shots are not only coming from the same players, they’re coming from the same places on the ice game after game. The map below shows where the Islanders are taking their shots from at even strength this season. This is also important because at this point in the season, chances are other teams have caught on to your offensive structure, which doesn’t bode well for you down the stretch or during the playoffs.

New York Islanders Even Strength Shots Heat Map via HockeyViz.com

New York Islanders Even Strength Shots Heat Map via HockeyViz.com

Their power play doesn’t look much different. Nick Leddy takes the majority of the shots from the top of the umbrella with Lee in front with a screen. Brock Nelson is normally positioned at the right faceoff dot, accounting for the third-most consistent shot area on the man advantage. What’s interesting about this is that it should be fairly obvious to the Islanders coaching staff that this isn’t working considering they’re operating at 15.4 percent this season while up a man.

New York Islanders Power Play Shot Location Map via Hockeyviz.com

New York Islanders Power Play Shot Location Map via Hockeyviz.com

The only time the Islanders deviate from this approach appears to be when they’re down more than one goal. In other words, as players get more desperate, they tend to simplify the game and get pucks to the net.

New York Islanders Shot Rates by Score via Hockeyviz.com

New York Islanders Shot Map by Score via Hockeyviz.com

The Islanders have a really bright future, and while they may not have all the pieces to be a serious contender this season, it would behoove them to end the season strong. Anything can happen in the playoffs, so throwing more pucks to the net in all situations could help the team position themselves better moving forward.

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 20th 6:10 PM
Column

Red Wings News & Rumors: Protocol, Rasmussen, Howard & More

Jan 20th 6:00 PM
Nashville Predators

Predators’ Forward Depth Leading to Wins

Jan 20th 5:35 PM
Column

Islanders Weekly: Shutouts, Injury Scares & Scoring Concerns

Jan 20th 4:33 PM
Archives

2010 NHL Entry Draft: 5 Forgotten Picks

Jan 20th 4:15 PM
Vegas Golden Knights

3 Pros and 3 Cons to Golden Knights’ Goalie Split

Jan 20th 4:05 PM
Florida Panthers

Panthers Offense Flourishes but Goaltending & Special Teams Need Work

Jan 20th 3:15 PM
Column

Red Wings Wednesday Weekly: Hockey is Back Everyone!

Jan 20th 2:35 PM
Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks Seeing Hot Starts From Some but Serious Concerns Linger

Jan 20th 2:20 PM
NHL Entry Draft

2021 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini’s Top 75 Rankings

Jan 20th 1:50 PM
Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers’ Goaltending & Defense Among Standouts Through Week 1

Editor’s Picks
World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information