TAMPA — The Islanders brought Adam Boqvist into the lineup on Saturday for one reason and one reason only: to help the struggling power play.
And if there’s a silver lining in the 5-3 loss to the Lightning, it’s that the power play looked — if not world-beating — a whole lot better than it has lately, accounting for a goal, holding the puck in the zone and accumulating chances.
Small steps, but possibly meaningful.
“Obviously, we know where we are in the power-play standings,” Boqvist told The Post, having recorded a secondary assist on Ryan Pulock’s blast at 5:58 of the third that marked the Islanders’ first-power play goal after three games scoreless. “I think creating momentum on the power play for the team is huge. And this last 10 games or whatever it is, we gotta get that momentum for the team to make that push.”
Boqvist and Pulock made up 40 percent of the second unit that also featured Max Tsyplakov, Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
On the Islanders’ first of two power plays, the Swede got a few shots through, with the unit retrieving pucks adeptly.
That’s a low bar to clear, of course, but it’s one the Islanders have regularly failed to hit.
On their second power play of the night, with the Isles trailing 4-0, they struck gold to start a run of three goals in just under three minutes to pull the visitors back into the game.
A functional power play, it turns out, makes a pretty big difference. Even more so if the Islanders can sustain it.
“You saw him, he was moving so well, he was skating well,” coach Patrick Roy said of Boqvist, who played 19:48 total. “I think he really did help the power play.”
That should be enough — more than enough — for Boqvist to stay in the lineup on Sunday in Carolina.
“You always want to play,” Boqvist said. “There’s nine D’s on this roster, so you gotta battle for your spot. Need to be ready when the coach tells you to go. That’s what I’m trying to do and get the consistency as well.”
Ilya Sorokin gave up four goals for the second consecutive start, stopping 19 shots.
“Thought he was OK,” Roy said. “They were nice shots, nice goals, the way they scored.”
Marcus Hogberg is set to start against the Hurricanes on Sunday.
