Nick Leddy hasn’t played well enough for the Islanders during the 2021 NHL Playoffs, and he must turn it around if the Islanders want to win this series.

This is a case where the eye test overrides statistics. Leddy and his partner Scott Mayfield have a combined plus/minus rating of +4, but their play has led directly to important goals against.

Game 1

The Islanders scored the first goal of Game 1, but allowed the tying goal quickly after. Leddy was on the ice, covering the far post in case of a pass in front of the net. Penguins’ forward Evan Rodrigues moved towards the slot and shot the puck. It was blocked and the rebound popped into the slot. Frederick Gaudreau found the puck and zipped it over Ilya Sorokin’s shoulder.

Meanwhile, Leddy was wandering through the low slot looking for the puck. When he saw Gaudreau pick up the puck, he wasn’t able to close the gap in time. Leddy got caught puck watching and lost his man at a crucial point during the game.

There were multiple points during the game where Leddy literally passed the puck to the other team for a high-quality scoring chance. The Islanders win games when they leave the defensive zone cleanly. That hasn’t been the case in this series, and Leddy is a large part of the reason why.

Game 3

Nick Leddy was awful in Game 3 of the first round of the NHL Playoffs. Right after the Islanders tied the game the first time, Leddy made a bad defensive play in the neutral zone, which led to Jeff Carter’s first goal of the game. Even though he recognized that Josh Bailey was covering for him, Bailey couldn’t catch up to Carter who ripped a shot past Semyon Varlamov.

A few minutes later, Leddy was extremely weak against Jason Zucker, who dangled around the Islanders’ defenseman to put the Penguins up 3-1. On a night that the Islanders’ offensive was dominating, Leddy was a defensive liability.

What Now?

Barry Trotz will likely keep Nick Leddy paired with Scott Mayfield throughout the NHL playoffs. Even though they’ve disappointed in the defensive zone, they find ways to generate offense. If I’m Barry Trotz, I avoid starting them in the defensive zone. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock are a much more reliable duo and need more playing time.

However, I do think Trotz should shuffle the pairings. Andy Greene should play with Mayfield and Noah Dobson should play with Leddy. I think this will give the Isles two shut-down pairs and one that is extremely effective in the offensive zone. The Islanders need to focus on exiting the defensive zone cleanly and closing the gap between themselves and their opponents to be successful in Game 4 and the rest of the series.

Ben Baruch

Born and raised on Long Island. Isles fan since 2009. Studying journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park.