The thought process in stationing Kyle Palmieri at the front of the net on the power play was simple enough.
It mainly came down to Palmieri being right-handed and, thus, being able to play off Bo Horvat — a lefty — in the slot.
“It was based on stick position and knowing that Kyle’s a very good net-front guy five-on-five,” Islanders coach Lane Lambert said before his team beat the Blue Jackets, 7-3, Thursday. “There’s no reason why he isn’t a good net-front guy five-on-four.”
Getting to the net has always been part of Palmieri’s game.
But he hasn’t been a presence in the crease in the same way as, say, Anders Lee, whose career-long calling card has been getting chances via tips, deflections and rebounds.
So it was a bit of a surprise when Palmieri ended up in that spot during training camp.
Not only has he stuck, but he’s helped propel the power play to a massive rise in productivity, with a conversion rate nearly 10 percent higher than a year ago.
“I hadn’t really played [the net front] at all throughout my career,” Palmieri said pregame. “It’s usually been in the bumper or off in the half-walls [on the power play]. I like it a lot. … Power play is trying to generate pucks getting to the net. I’ll just try and be there, be in the right spot for them.”
The move was rewarded again on Thursday on the first power play of the game for the Islanders.
Just 16 seconds after Columbus’ Kirill Marchenko went off for hooking, Palmieri was right there at the backdoor to finish off a tic-tac-toe passing move that first went from Mat Barzal to Brock Nelson before finding No. 21 at the left post — a play drawn up by assistant coach John MacLean.
“Barzy made a great play finding Nelly,” Palmieri said. “That play was something we talked about a little bit that might be there. Nelly put it right on my tape. Empty net.”
The Islanders announced that they will open two public pond hockey rinks called The Park at UBS Arena on Dec. 27 to host youth and adult hockey tournaments and community programs.
Sebastian Aho (upper body) continued to skate with the team Thursday morning, though a timeline has not yet been specified for his return from an injury suffered Nov. 24 in Ottawa.
Lambert said that Matt Martin is not yet able to play despite having been activated off injured reserve last week.
Martin has appeared in just one game since Nov. 13.
Read more
