Pete DeBoer has focused on building what he calls “playoff habits” since taking over as head coach of the New York Islanders, according to an April 10 report. After replacing Patrick Roy on Sunday, DeBoer led his first three practices with the team this week, emphasizing defensive discipline and effective transitions.
The push for playoff readiness comes at a critical time for the Islanders, who are close to securing a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With three games remaining, they trail the Philadelphia Flyers by one point for third place in their division and are three points behind the Ottawa Senators for a wild card position.
DeBoer’s debut behind the bench resulted in a 5-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at UBS Arena on Thursday. “Just all the little things that matter at this time of year,” DeBoer said. “And matter even more a week from now when you get into the playoffs.” He added: “There’s nothing that sells a coach’s message more than success… We got some of that tonight. A lot of work to do, but we took care of our business tonight, which was to win a game and stay relevant here in the playoff hunt. We’ve got to do it again Saturday.”
The coaching change followed four consecutive losses under Roy where players admitted responsibility for his dismissal after being outscored and outshot by opponents during that stretch. DeBoer noted positive engagement from players during practice: “Probably the most impressive thing this week with me getting in was… their willingness to buy in… I think it came from a place of they were disappointed a coach got fired… When you have character and you feel that way it’s how you respond to that.” Rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer echoed this sentiment: “We really wanted to show him how great of a team we are and what a great group we’ve got in here. That was a big thing.” Forward Emil Heineman added: “We were all looking for a bit of redemption from the last few weeks.”
In Thursday’s game against Toronto, New York started strong with early goals by Brayden Schenn and Jean-Gabriel Pageau before ultimately outshooting their opponent 44-16 despite Toronto missing key players like Auston Matthews due to elimination from playoff contention.
Reflecting on his team’s performance after only three days together, DeBoer said: “We played fast and we were relentless… There was no indecision in our game… To our group’s credit, that never happened.” Looking ahead at crucial upcoming games against Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, and Carolina Hurricanes—DeBoer’s focus remains on maintaining these playoff habits as they pursue postseason qualification.
