For 4 minutes and 38 straight seconds in the second period of Monday’s matinee at Barclays Center, the Islanders were on the power play. A minute and 23 seconds of that came with a 5-on-3 advantage.
The golden opportunity came and went without anything to show for it.
While the Islanders were able to fight back in the third to steal a point in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Blues, their 0-for-6 showing on the power play continued an early-season trend. They are now 0-for-10 on the man-advantage through three games.
“They all have good hands and they like to use them a little too much right now,” coach Doug Weight said. “You watch good power plays, you gotta get it off your stick. You have to trust the five guys. What do your parents tell you when you’re a kid? The puck moves a lot faster than your hands can and you can, so you gotta move it around, zip it around and explode into spaces to make people vulnerable.”
The Blues provided a first-hand example of that Monday when they strung together some crisp passes on the power play that led to a Vladimir Tarasenko goal.
With a three-game swing through California up next, the Islanders will try to find a fix.
“It’s kind of a different setup than some of us are used to and a couple different faces out there,” said rookie center Mathew Barzal, who logged 5 minutes and 40 seconds on the power-play unit. “It’s just about getting comfortable and feeling each other out. I thought we did a bit of a better job tonight, but at the end of the day, scoring goals is the only thing that matters.”
Weight stood behind his decision to send out Jordan Eberle and Anthony Beauvillier in the first two rounds of the shootout.
Eberle was turned away with a glove save from Blues goalie Jake Allen and Beauvillier never got a real shot off after trying to deke Allen.
“Eberle’s a heck of a shootout guy,” Weight said. “He made a nice move and [Allen made] a good save. [Beauvillier] is very good. … He’s just a comfortable guy in shootouts. It bounced a little bit on him, but I’m comfortable with who I picked.”
Winger Josh Ho-Sang and defenseman Scott Mayfield both got on the ice for the first time Saturday and were back in the lineup Monday without any changes to the lines.
Weight broke down their respective season debuts before Monday’s loss.
“Josh, it was one of those games where when he was on the ice, someone was getting a chance — either on their team or our team,” Weight grinned. “We’ve gotta clean that up. He’s electric, he’s fun and he gets excited.”
Mayfield’s evaluation was steadier.
“He makes it hard to play against,” Weight said. “It’s been about 12-14 months for him that he has taken a huge step forward.”
Cal Clutterbuck remained day-to-day with a lower-body injury, but Weight said he expected the forward to make the trip to California.