Palmieri Heating Up in Second Half

During a walk-off interview with MSG Networks, Noah Dobson was asked what he thought was behind Kyle Palmieri's recent scoring surge.
Dobson's answer: "Dad power."
Palmieri, had a son in early February, chuckled at the notion, especially since the increased responsibilities of parenting tend to throw off the carefully curated game day routines of a pro athlete.

"It kind of throws every bit of a routine off, but it's been awesome," Palmieri said of becoming a dad. "We've been fortunate enough to have the in-laws come down while we were on the road. My wife is doing a great job, I'm really proud of her and it's a really cool experience to learn as you go.
While Palmieri does have some newfound dad strength, he's also been raising his game, with 12 points (8G, 4A) in 14 games since returning to the lineup after the All-Star break.

Palmieri missed the Islanders 6-3 win in Vancouver to be present for the birth of his son, but was held out of the lineup for the next two games in Edmonton and Calgary, as Head Coach Barry Trotz was rewarding his lineup for quality efforts vs the Canucks and Oilers.
That was an unfamiliar spot for Palmieri, who had five-straight seasons with 24-or-more goals and was accustomed to being a regular contributor. But the start of the 2021-22 campaign was anything but ordinary for Palmieri, who sat on one goal in 29 games and seemed snakebit for long stretches.
It got worse for Palmieri, who suffered a lower-body injury on Dec. 16 that kept him out for 10 games - a total that would have been more had a cluster of Islanders games not been postponed due to COVID-19. He was able to come back and play four games before the All-Star break, but Trotz could feel Palmieri carrying the weight of his turbulent first half.
"I talked to him and said let's forget about the first half of the season and let's focus on just the last half of this regular season and see if we can get a little bit of traction, a little more production," Trotz said on Feb. 15.

The message was received immediately, as Palmieri went out and scored twice against the Sabres. The first goal featured Palmieri driving the net hard, knocking in an Anthony Beauvillier feed before crashing to the ice. For a guy who couldn't get a bounce all season, Palmieri's luck seemed to turn in Western New York, as he banked his second goal of the game off Dustin Tokarski's mask and in from the side of the net.
After that, Palmieri's second-half surge began. He scored in back-to-back games against Montreal and Seattle, netting the game-winner against the expansion Kraken on an effective line with Mathew Barzal and Zach Parise. Barzal's injury against the LA Kings meant new lines in Anaheim, but that didn't slow Palmieri. After an assist against the Ducks, Palmieri scored back-to-back goals against the Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks on March 1 and 3, rekindling his chemistry with Jean-Gabriel Pageau - who has nine points (2G, 7A) playing alongside Palmieri since Feb. 27. (It should also be noted that Josh Bailey also has six points (3G, 3A) in his last three games playing with Palmieri and Pageau.)
Palmieri has eight points (4G, 4A) in his last eight games and is currently riding a four-game point streak (2G, 3A). He looked like his vintage sniper self on Sunday vs Anaheim, snapping a shot high short side over John Gibson in full stride in the first period. He also scored the game-winner, one-timing a feed from Scott Mayfield late in the second period, the quick release and confidence of an instinctual scorer. He nearly had a third, but was robbed by a circus stick save from Gibson on a yawning cage.

"Both of his shots tonight were placed perfectly," captain Anders Lee said after Sunday's game. "You can see his confidence in the corners, the way he pulls the puck off the wall, he's finding his spots and when he's getting his opportunity to shoot, he's taking it and finding the back of the net. He's scoring all different ways and his game is going right now for sure."
The Islanders offense has been red-hot of late, scoring four-or-more goals in four-straight games. Lee was just named the NHL's Third Star of the Week for recording seven goals in four games, while Brock Nelson just had a four-game goal streak come to an end. Palmieri's run may be flying a little under the radar as a result, but only Noah Dobson has more points (13) than Palmieri since he returned to the lineup on Feb. 15.