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Can J.P. Pageau Continue Leading the Islanders?

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Karine Hains | Last updated 4/30/24

The situation is dire for the New York Islanders right now. They’re down 3-1 to the heavily favored Carolina Hurricanes, who have outscored them 13-9 so far in this first-round series. Head coach Patrick Roy needs everyone on his team to step up if they are to come back from Raleigh alive and kicking, and J.P. Pageau is one of them.

Pageau’s Role

To acquire Jean-Gabriel Pageau at the 2020 trade deadline, the Islanders had to send three picks to the Ottawa Senators — a first, a second, and a third-round pick. As soon as he was acquired, he signed a six-year contract extension. In the following playoffs, the Islanders played 22 games on their way to the Eastern Conference Final. In those 22 games, Pageau scored 11 points and was an important part of the team.

Since his contract kicked in at the start of the 2020-21 season, Pageau has never registered more than 40 points in a season, as he’s been groomed to be a bottom-six shutdown player. When Roy arrived in New York, though, he tried to put Pageau in his top six up front, but he’s back on the third line now. He’s still getting his fair share of ice time and making the most of it.

Pageau’s Great Performance in Game 4

In Game 4, Pageau scored an important power-play goal and was successful in completing numerous defensive missions. He’s only played in three games so far in this series and does have a goal and an assist. He had to miss Game 1 because of a lower-body injury.

Without the last change in Carolina, Roy might not be able to deploy Pageau against the Hurricanes’ top line, and it will be important for the Quebecer’s line to at least limit the secondary scoring. Pageau could also be called upon to take important faceoffs as it’s another aspect of play in which he excels. In the last game, he won 19 of his 23 faceoffs, so talk about coming up clutch. He even won eight of his nine duels with Carolina’s Jordan Staal, who was fifth in draws for centers that have taken over 800 faceoffs this season.

Pageau can also play a key role on the penalty kill, where he logged 2:38 of action in Game 4. With a 71.4 percent success rate, the Islanders’ penalty kill could stand to improve, which would go a long way toward staying alive in this series.

After being named the third star of Game 4 Pageau said:

“It’s always fun to contribute offensively but it’s not always scoring goals or getting points. It’s about winning my battles and my faceoffs, being strong on the puck, but definitely scoring that goal is fun. (NHL.com)”

Pageau’s performance hasn’t gone unnoticed by the man in charge, either. Talking about him postgame, Roy mentioned:

“He played well against one of the best faceoff teams in the league, he did a real nice job. Pageau is an important part of our team. He’s playing a 200-foot game. (NHL.com)”

At 31 years old, Pageau still has two more years remaining on his contract, and fans criticizing it because they feel he doesn’t produce enough to warrant getting that kind of money would do well to remember there are more than just points in hockey.

It’s one thing to stand tall and perform at home, but it’s quite another to do it away from home with the added pressure of hostile fans. Carolina’s got a very good following, and knowing their team has finished 3^rd overall in the league, they’ve got tall expectations this postseason and should be very vocal with the Islanders being on the brink of elimination.

This article first appeared on The Hockey Writers and was syndicated with permission.

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