KoC: 2016 Islanders Playoff Preview

Your New York Islanders finished the season with a huge 4-1 win against the Rangers and a pair of loses, 4-3 (OT) to the Sabres and 5-2 to the Flyers.  The Ranger game was at MSG and saw the Isles sweep the Rangers on the season for the first time in franchise history.  Greiss, Prince and Cizikas were named the games’ 3 stars.  Greiss was solid with 36 saves and a .976Sv%.  The Isles home loss in OT to Buffalo saw Scott Mayfield and Alan Quine (3rd star) net their 1st NHL goals, two prospects that have impressed me for quite some time.  The final game of the regular season took place in Brooklyn against Philadelphia without John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen, Casey Cizikas, Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk and Thomas Greiss (7 of 9) only played the first period.  Calvin de Haan was named 3rd star of the game.

Head Coach Jack Capuano insisted that the roster decisions were not based on the upcoming playoff scenario, despite the team playing their 5th game in 7 nights.  "We have to do what's best for us," Capuano said. "Nothing would have changed with our hockey club. We have some guys that are dinged up, and we have to do what's best for our team. That wouldn't have changed one thought process of our decision making as a staff. Not at all." A win could have put the Isles ahead of the Rangers for 3^rd in the metro and had them finish 4th in the east to face the Penguins, but the loss cemented the Isles 1st round match-up against the Florida Panthers in the playoffs.  The Isles finished 5^th in the east in the 1^st wild card spot with a 100 pt, 45-27-10 record, going 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.  It’s the 2^nd 100+ point season in 2 years for New York.

Anders Lee (4/7) suffered a fractured leg after being hit with a Johnny Boychuk shot in the Rangers game and will be out indefinitely.  April saw the Isles recall G, Christopher Gibson, D, Scott Mayfield, D, Adam Pelech, F, Alan Quine, F, Bracken Kearns and F, Ross Johnston to relieve some of their injury woes in the final few games. Perhaps they will also have a future into the playoffs.  Quine, Kearns and Johnston will go back to the BST for practice this week who need 2 points to clinch an AHL playoff spot.

The injury report looks like this: 3/9 Jaroslav Halak (Groin-Mid April), 3/17 Mikhail Grabovski (concussion symptoms), 3/31 Travis Hamonic (Knee-DtD), 4/4 JF Berube (LBI-DtD), 4/5 Brian Strait (UBI-DtD).  Several other players have been out more recently for short periods and include Matt Martin (UBI), Cal Clutterbuck (Undisclosed), Calvin de Haan (Undisclosed), Casey Cizikas (UBI) and Marek Zidlicky (UBI).  What the injury scenario will mean for this year’s playoffs remains to be seen.  The loss of Travis Hamonic in last season’s playoffs was probably the difference in the series against Washington, but New York needs to focus on the task at hand.  Beating the Florida Panthers with the roster of players’ available going into the 1^st round.

After someone in the organization made a statement that the Florida Panthers “preferred” to play the Islanders over the Rangers, Panthers GM Dale Tallon took exception to Islanders “tanking” against Philly to avoid playing Penguins when they rested some of their top players for game 82. ““Talk is cheap. Action speaks louder than words,’’ Tallon said on the Islanders pulling Greiss after the 1^st period of the game.  Former Islander, Roberto Luongo responded as well, “It doesn't really matter what they did or who they want to play, everybody knows once the puck drops it's going to be a battle and that's the way the playoffs are.''  Should be a good one.

Florida boasts an older, but always dangerous Jaromir Jagr and a tandem of former Islanders goaltenders with Roberto Luong and Al Montoya.  They have a 2-1-0 regular season series edge with a better GPG (11^th/2.78) and GAA (12^th/2.54) on New York.  The Panthers also have a host of promising young players.  Just a few guys named Barkov, Huberdeau, Ekblad, Bjugstad & Trocheck. A solid mix and a dangerous team that cannot be looked past by anyone.  It was hardly an accident that they did so well this year, but it’s important to note that when Jagr scores, Florida wins (31-10-6) but if the 44 year old is occupied by the Isles grit, the Isles could wear him down over a long series.  Much the same for New York, John Tavares has to continue his NHL 1^st star of the week (4 & 5 for 9 pts in 5 games) and lead his team to the coveted second round of the playoffs for the Isles to feel good about the improvements that they have made.  Secondary scoring will need to be there in a depleted line up to give the Isles and a double teamed JT a chance to win.

Islanders goaltending will also be a huge factor.  Thomas Greiss (23-11-4, .935Sv% & 2.36 gaa) has been all his team could ask for, but is riding a career high 41 games in a season and will have to be the work horse in the post season.  Travis Hamonic is questionable at best and If Jaroslav Halak is well enough to play, it will be a huge boost for depth in net.  Berube and Gibson have a combined 8 games experience this season as NHL net minders.

The Islanders will have their work cut out for them against a very dangerous Florida team, but don’t sell them short.  You can be sure that they won’t stop working and have several weapons the Panthers better hope they can contain.  Especially if New York’s special teams get going, as they have the edge with the 13^th ranked PP and 2^nd ranked PK units.  How will their key injuries affect them over the course of a series?

Isles playoff schedule vs the Florida Panthers:

G1: THURSDAY, APRIL 14th – ISLANDERS AT FLORIDA 8:00PM.

G2: FRIDAY, APRIL 15th – ISLANDERS AT FLORIDA 7:30PM. 

G3: SUNDAY, APRIL 17th – FLORIDA AT ISLANDERS 8:00PM.

G4: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20th – FLORIDA AT ISLANDERS 8:00PM.

G5: IF NEC: FRIDAY, APRIL 22ND – AT FLORIDA Time TBD.

G6: IF NEC: SUNDAY, APRIL 24TH – AT ISLANDERS Time TBD.

G7: IF NEC: TUESDAY, APRIL 26TH – AT FLORIDA Time TBD.

Prediction:  Islanders in 7.

Isles Notes:

Erick Hornick, “Neither the Isles nor the Florida Panthers have won a playoff series in two decades, but that will change over the next two weeks as the teams meet in the playoffs for the first time. The Isles last won a playoff series in 1993, when they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Patrick Division Final. Among the Penguins on that team: Jaromir Jagr.   Florida has won three playoff series in their history, all in 1996, when they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final before losing to Colorado.”

The Islanders and Barclays Center have an opt-out clause, but no plans to use it, sources say.

Sound Tigers Notes:

Scott Mayfield has been returned on loan to Bridgeport.

The BST have signed Tanner Fritz to an AHL contract through the 2016-17 season