An independent blog on the New York Islanders, the NHL and AHL by a guy from New York.

Monday, April 13, 2015

KoC: 2015 Islanders Playoff Preview


Your New York Islanders will face the Washington Capitals in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the eastern conference.  The Islanders finished 3rd in the Metropolitan Division with a 47-28-7 record.  The Capitals finished the season 2nd with a 45-26-11 record & claimed home-ice advantage with an Islanders’ loss against Columbus on Saturday.


Their series will begin on Wednesday.  Games 1 (4/15) & 2 (4/17) will be played at the Verizon Center, 7pm starts before coming home to Nassau Coliseum on Sunday, 4/19 at noon for game 3, and game 4 on Tuesday, 4/21, with a 7:30pm starting time.
 

If necessary, game 5 will be in Maryland on Thursday, 4/23.  Game 6 would be back home at the NVMC on Saturday, 4/25 and game 7 on Monday, 4/27 back with Washington.  Times TBD.




The Isles and Capitals have met several times in playoff competition.  In 1993, the Islanders defeated the Capitals in six games and have won 5 of 6 playoff series between the two teams.  The Isles had 2 O.T. wins against the Caps this season while Washington won the other two meetings.



This year’s playoff is a huge one for New York.  It will see the NVMC hold its final rounds of competition as the home of the Islanders.  The fans will want another big post season performance by their squad.  Two years ago, the Isles had a strong series against the Penguins that went six games, but they want to build on that appearance and start changing their playoff culture by winning this series against the Capitals.  That will come down to relying on an improved goal tending situation, a better defensive game that can jump in on the rush and a balanced scoring attack that can roll with all four lines.  Special teams must perform efficiently on both sides to help the team reach the next level in the post season.

 
 
Eric Hornick had a few stats that might explain a lot about the way this team finished the season:

The Isles were 41-20-2 in their first 63 games, but finished the regular season 6-8-5 in the last 19.

The Isles have allowed 8 goals in the last 10 seconds of a period this season, none to the empty net.

The Isles were 6-0 in shootouts prior to Christmas, but lost six of their last seven shootouts, including the last five.

 

The Isles are 25-14-2 on Coliseum ice, while they finished 22-14-5 on the road, including 6-2-4 in their last 12. So this team is capable of winning anywhere if they can find consistency in their game and play to their strengths.  The ability to dictate play is limited without home ice by way of match ups, but the depth of roster should benefit the Islanders as it has all season.

 

What that might mean in a series against Washington is in short, their deficits must be addressed and their advantages must be pressed.  Here are a few factors I have isolated as keys to the series:



Offense:  While the Islanders can win without John Tavares, it is always better to have one of the best in the NHL on the ice when possible.  JT’s 86 points in 82 games had him in the running for the Art Ross trophy until the final hours of the race.  Beyond the stat sheet, Tavares is a Captain who leads by example and makes the guys around him better.  Players like Ryan Strome, Brock Nelson and Anders Lee have followed JT’s example and have really taken strides this season.  They, along with all the usual suspects, will need to score goals and put pressure on the Capitals’ defense. 


 

Defense & Goaltending:  Jaroslav Halak had a great season for the Islanders.  His ability to carry the team in the playoffs will factor in on how deep the team can go and he has had success in the play offs before.  In 2009, Halak helped the Canadiens defeat the Capitals and defending cup champion Penguins, before losing in the conference finals to Philadelphia.  And as a former Washington keeper, he is sure to need no extra motivation to help his new team beat the Capitals.  Michal Neuvirth is a good safety net for the Isles in goal.  He has playoff experience (4-5 record with Washington) and will likely want to make an impression if called upon to increase his chances of being re-signed in the summer.  Johnny Boychuk & Nick Leddy will have to raise their game even more with the devastating loss of Travis Hamonic on defense for an unknown period of time at this point.  Griffin Reinhart has been recalled on an emergency basis for defensive depth.  Containing Alex Ovechkin, the 2015 & 5 time Maurice “Rocket” Richard trophy winner will be a huge task for the Islanders defensive corps, especially on the PK.
 

 

On the other side, Braden Holtby was 41-20-10 in the regular season with a 2.22gaa, a .922 Sv% and 9 shut outs, ranking 1st in minutes played by a goaltender.  Holtby is a good goaltender, but has a very average 10-11 career record in the NHL playoffs.  The Islanders will need to put shots on net and interfere with his ability to track the puck.
 

 

Success on special teams will have to factor in for New York.  The Capitals have the best PP in the NHL.  The Islanders will need to stay out of the box.  When the need to kill off the Caps man advantage is called upon, it will mean the improved Isles PK will need to rise to the occasion.
 

 

The Islanders will need to score goals, enforce their game, use their speed and put up a strong, aggressive fore-check against Alex Ovechkin, Niklas Backstrom & a red hot Capitals’ team.  Their special teams will have to be dialed in on both sides of the ice & Jaroslav Halak will need to play to the level that helped him set the regular season record for wins (38) by an Islanders’ goaltender.   


Going into the playoffs as the underdog may indeed be the best thing for the Islanders. 


 

Islanders in 7.

 

 

NHL Notes:

 

The Draft lottery is set for Saturday. 


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