Islanders Fine-Tuning Faceoffs

Much has been made about the Islanders depth at center and one area where it has been playing out is the faceoff circle.
The Islanders are the NHL's second-best faceoff team, winning 56.8% of their draws in the early going. That's not skewed by one good night either, as the Islanders won a majority of faceoffs in each of their first five games to start the season - a franchise first since the stat was tracked in 1997-98. The lone night they didn't win - Tuesday vs Washington - wound up being a 50-50 draw.

"As a group, we've made a conscious effort to be better," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "We've made very small jumps in that area in the faceoff circle… It's a good tool to have. It's so hard to get the puck now, why not just start [with it]. A puck battle, that's what a faceoff is."
Jean-Gabriel Pageau leads the Islanders in faceoffs taken (104) and is second in FOW% (61.5%), while Casey Cizikas is first with a 63.1% win rate with 65 total draws. While early, Pageau and Cizikas rank in the top eight in the NHL for FOW% among forwards with at least 50 draws. Add in Brock Nelson's 52.8% through five games (72 draws) and Mat Barzal's 58.8% (34 draws) and the Islanders have four formidable centers taking puck drops.

"Guys have taken more pride and getting a guy like JG Pageau, he brings another level of veteran presence in the faceoff circle," Trotz said. "He gets guys to really compete at that. Give him some credit and to our staff for putting an emphasis for it."
Pageau has become the Islanders go-to guy in terms of faceoffs, taking the most offensive (29) and defensive (50) draws in the early part of the season. He's over 50% in all three zones, and has routinely been put out by Barry Trotz late in games.
Pageau's also been deployed alongside Cizikas when the Islanders face a key defensive draw, giving Trotz some insurance if one of his pivots gets waved out. Between Cizikas, Nelson and Pageau, the trio are 21-9 in shorthanded faceoffs, part of the reason for the Islanders effective penalty kill (84.2%) this season. Pageau won the only faceoff - against Nicklas Backstrom - of the Islanders five-minute third-period kill on Tuesday night.
"On the PK we always say the best defender is our goalie, but to get the puck and clear it right off the start kills at least 30 seconds of the penalty right away," Pageau said. "All of the centers that are taking draws right now are doing a really good job. We're taking the time after almost every practice to practice and the guys are really paying attention to all of the little details and are super competitive in the circle, which is fun for us, we start with the puck more."
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The Islanders have gotten some more help in the faceoff circle from an unlikely source, as Anders Lee has become a viable option alongside Barzal. Lee, a lefty, and Barzal, a righty, have split faceoffs depending on which side of the ice the puck is being dropped on, allowing both players to take draws on their strong side.
Lee, who has been a winger since entering the league in 2013, has won 19-of-40 faceoffs (47.5%) this season, but was a noteworthy 10-of-12 against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. Lee has put in a concerted effort to work on his faceoffs after practice over the past two seasons under Trotz.
"He's definitely a viable guy," Trotz said of Lee. "You're seeing that I'm using him on a left draw in the d-zone I don't have any problem with him taking it."
Trotz said Lee has absorbed the lessons from seasoned draw-takers like Pageau and it is adding a new dimension to the captain's game. Trotz said he saw Pageau giving counter-moves to Lee after the team's last home practice.
"[Lee's] learned to take faceoffs with good centermen," Trotz said. "They have counter moves for certain things and certain tells. What Pager has learned from guys like [Antoine] Vermette and [Mike] Fisher and guys like that when he was coming up through the systems. They taught him some things and he's gone against some of the best faceoff guys and has had to learn the craft because that's part of what he does. He's passing it on to Anders."
The Islanders have not finished above 50% in the faceoff circle since the 2015-16 season. There's a long way to go, but with a renewed focus on the dot - and five capable options on the draw - the Islanders are off to a fine start in the faceoff circle.