(AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
ELMONT, N.Y. — I figured that there was no better place to do our first mailbag of the Islanders’ 2023-24 season than in the press box at UBS Arena as we get ready for puck drop on Opening Night with the Buffalo Sabres in town.
We pick a handful of pressing topics to delve into to provide some clarity that fans starve for during the Stanley Cup Playoffs where information is at a premium and speculation is always running rampant.
Want to be featured in the next Islanders mailbag? Tweet your questions to @JoePantorno.
@1liTjm asks: Will [the Islanders] actually have a respectful power play finally this year? Can’t remember the last time we had an even decent PP.
JP: It would be understandable for people to be down on the Islanders’ power play considering the lack of changes (read as true scoring upgrades) for a special-teams unit that hindered a playoff run and ultimately played a key role in them getting bounced out of the postseason.
But there is reason for optimism just by looking at who they’re trotting out on the man advantage. Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal are going to continue jelling and have been inseparable throughout the preseason while on the same unit, Brock Nelson has 35-plus-goal capabilities and Kyle Palmieri is healthy and a gritty skill guy to wreak havoc near the crease. Noah Dobson is the wild card of the first unit. He needs to take a step forward this year and become the end-all-be-all quarterback. The more comfortable he gets, the better things will look.
The second unit isn’t as vital but still needs to generate something to sustain a legitimate power-play attack. Sebastian Aho plays quarterback with Anders Lee up front and Ryan Pulock, Pierre Engvall, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau pulling the strings. Not as flashy, but Lee and Pageau are 20-plus goal scorers, Pulock has one of the hardest shots in the league, and Engvall should be knocking on the door of that 20-goal plateau, as…
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