Trotz The Process

The numbers don't lie, the New York Islanders have significantly lowered their goals against this season.
Through 33 games, the Islanders have allowed 90 goals (excluding shootout winners), which is down 23 from this time last season, when they allowed 113 (excluding shootout winners).
That puts the Islanders near the top of the league, as they are second in the Eastern Conference and fourth in the NHL with 2.73 goals-against per game.

"We're a stingy defensive team," Jordan Eberle said. "It's just a staple in our game, the way we play. If we can continue to play like that and find a way to create offense out of it, we're going to be a dangerous team."
The goals against stats are the type of tangible marker that Barry Trotz could use to show his team their progress from last season, when the Islanders allowed a league-high 293 goals, or 3.57 goals against per game.
"You see some of the team's comments after playing us, how we're a really hard team to play against, that's what you want to hear after games," Eberle said. "You don't want to hear the opposite of that."

Trotz was tasked with addressing the Islanders defensive issues when he was hired over the summer and his system appears to be working and the Islanders are buying in. It started in training camp, when Trotz showed the Islanders clips of various defensive zone coverages of several teams the past few years.
"We had some clips, playing in situations similar and just wanted to up the level of commitment and detail," Trotz said. "We tried to take the uncertainty out and play a way I know works. The guys have bought in and it obviously helped that we won last year."
"The why we did it and how we did it has given them real good clarity," Trotz added. "That's why the buy-in is there because they go, 'yeah that makes absolute sense.'"
While the Islanders (38 points) are in a similar position to where they were 33 games into the season last year (39 points), the process looks completely different. Instead of trying to out-gun their opponents, the Islanders are content to shut them down, play low-event hockey and grind out wins. That's the Trotz way, play structured, committed, make good decisions with the puck and limit the amount of high-danger chances against.
"When our exits are clean, less shots [against]," Trotz said ahead of Monday's game. "When our decisions at the red line and the blue line under pressure are good decisions, then you get less shots. Positionally, in terms of our spacing in all three zones is better, less shots. So, if we do all that, then you give yourself a chance. Doesn't mean you're going to win or not, you put yourself in a position with the analytics of the game to have success."

Fewer shots against doesn't always translate to two points, as the Isles found out against Vegas last week, but it's another area the Islanders have made progress in. This season they're averaging 30.9 against per game, down from 35.6 last season.
As they've got accustomed to Trotz's systems, the Islanders have shown how good they can be defensively, especially over the past four games. Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon - the second-leading scorer in the NHL - called the Islanders one of the best defensive teams in the league on Monday morning. That night the Isles became the first team to keep NHL-leading scorer Mikko Rantanen off the scoresheet in 15 games in their 4-1 win over a high-octane Colorado squad.
Prior to that, the Islanders held Vegas and Detroit to a combined 32 shots against in regulation in their two previous games and held Arizona to one goal against in a 3-1 win on Tuesday, with Trotz praising the Islanders commitment to defense in the win.
"Guys were blocking shots when they needed to and doing what they needed to do to make sure the puck didn't get into the danger areas," Trotz said. "Real gutsy. Back to back and we'll take it. Two goals against in the last two games, we'll have a chance to win every night."
The Islanders have brought into Trotz's defensive philosophy and feel if they continue to trust the process, they'll at least have a chance every night.
"We're giving ourselves a chance every night," Ryan Pulock said. "It's been a big improvement for us and it's going to be very important for us going forward."