Yahoo Sports Islanders Kyle MacLean’s Face-Off Work Paying Off Early In His First Full NHL Season
It was a bit of a head-scratcher when New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy shared ahead of opening night that Kyle MacLean would be taking the face-offs on the fourth line over Casey Cizikas.
MacLean, who was entering his first full NHL season after bursting onto the scene in the second half of 2023-24 campaign, only won 42.5 percent of his draws through his first 32 NHL games.
He won 17 of 30 postseason draws, which also came out to 42.5 percent.
Cizikas, who has won 51.6 percent of his draws over his 13-year career, won 53.4 percent of his draws in 2023-24, which was second to Jean-Gabriel Pageau's 56.9 percent.
"It's definitely something I need to work on and continue to get better at," Kyle MacLean told The Hockey News ahead of the start of the season. "But I think repetitions and getting used to the guys you're going against, as well, will help."
The good news is that if he ever needed Cizikas to take a face-off, the energizer bunny was always ready to go.
"Right now, Kyle's gonna be the guy in the face-off circle," Cizikas told THN. "He's strong, he's quick, and him getting those reps in is important. If Macker ever says, 'Zeek, take a draw,' I'll go do it. But that faceoff circle is his."
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So far, through three games, MacLean has been exceptional in the face-off dot.
He's won 71.4 percent of his draws (25-of-35) to lead the team.
Here's the breakdown:
Even strength FO%: 73.3
PP FO%: N/A
PK FO%: 61.8
OZ FO%: 77.8
NZ FO%: 50
DZ FO%: 75
Cizikas has won 60 percent of his face-offs (3-of-5) so far this season.
The big ones to watch are the defensive zone draws and the penalty kill.
Those are the draws that earn a player trust from their head coach and he's excelled there.
In the first game of the season, MacLean won 5-of-9 draws.
In game two, he won 8-of-11.
And in game three, he won 12-of-15.
Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
MacLean played, on average, 10:05 minutes per night last season, but so far through three games in 2024-25, the 25-year-old is averaging 11:48 minutes, with him getting penalty-kill time on the second unit with Cizikas playing a major role in them minutes jump.
But the offensive zone face-offs are huge as well, given that the Islanders new-look fourth line isn't viewed as just a checking line anymore.
They have speed and they do have offensive skill, so finding ways to produce will be critical in the Islanders finding consistency in 2024-25.
And if those chances don't come off the rush, they'll come by winning offensive-zone draws and cycling the offensive zone.
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