Behind Barry Trotz and his staff, our New York Islanders eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins in
a 4-game sweep with a 3-1 victory at PPG Paints Arena 6 days ago. It's the
Isles first sweep since 1983 and their 7th best-of-7 sweep in franchise
history. It’s also the first time the modern-age Pens have been swept since
2013. The Isles came back three times after giving up the opening goal and
countered, despite being outshot 136 to 129 in the series.
New York outscored the Penguins by a 14-6 margin over four
games (Game 1 in O.T.) as they frustrated them and kept them playing from
behind from almost the entire series. Pittsburgh managed to maintain a lead in
only 4 minutes and 51 seconds of the entire series. Casey Cizikas and Matt
Martin helped the stingy Isles keep top scorers, Evgeni Malkin to 3
points, Sidney Crosby (1 assist) and Jake Guentzel (1 goal) and a combined
-7 rating over the four games. Pens netminder and 2-time Stanley Cup winner,
Matt Murray had a .306 GAA and a .906Sv% in the series.
Isles Jordan Eberle (4 & 2 with a game-winner) had a
career playoff run and led the Islanders in points with 6 and a +6 rating. Per
Eric Hornick, “Eberle is the first Islander to open a playoff run by scoring in
four straight games since Ray Ferraro (1993 vs. Washington) and also joins
Ferraro as the only players in Isles history to score in their first four
playoff games with the team.” Matt Barzal was 2nd on the team in scoring,
contributing five assists with a +6 rating and made some plays for New York.
Forward and former Penguin, Tom Kuhnhackl deserves mention for bringing 2-time
Cup winning experience and tenacity during the series, even with limited action
during the regular season. Per NHL.com, “It's great that we won the first round
and everything, but there's plenty more to come of where we want to go,"
Kuhnhackl said. "If you sleep [during] the first period or the first game
if you're not ready from the get-go, it's always hard to get back in it. That's
why we've got to get ready for the [next round]." Eberle was my runner-up for round one's Grail Knight of the series. Winner revealed below.
Josh Bailey (3 & 1 with a game-winner) and Valtteri
Filppula (4 assists) had great playoff performances for the Isles. Brock Nelson
scored three goals (2 game winners) and was amongst the team leaders (3rd with
a 44.6% percentage behind Barzal, 55.5% and Lee, 54.5%) in the faceoff circle.
A considerable deficit for New York entering the playoffs, while Isles
defenseman, Devon Toews (2 PPP and a +2 rating) continued his active play into
the postseason along with other surgical blue line performances from Adam
Pelech (2 assists) Nick Leddy (1 goal) and Ryan Pulock (1 assist) and +3
ratings.
S
Per Eric Hornick, “Robin Lehner made 32 saves; he stopped
130 of 136 Pittsburgh shots in the series as he became the first NHL goalie
since Michael Leighton (2010 with Philadelphia) to win his first four career
playoff starts. Only 12 other goalies in NHL history have done so.” Robin Lehner was the MVP among MVPs for New York. He guarded
the Isles net behind a relentless checking game and dogged defense. He gave up
just six goals in 4 games while posting a stingy 1.47 GAA and a .956Sv%. While
providing a reliable backstopping performance, the resurgent Lehner always gave
credit to the Isles organization as a whole and the fans that have supported
him and his squad all season long. Lehner heralded his teammates, coaches, and
even loyal fans after each win in his own humble and genuine way.
When I said, “Lehner should be a serious consideration for
the Vezina along with his Masterton considerations. He’s certainly overcome
every other challenge presented in the darkest year of his life this season,” I
had no idea Robin Lehner would indeed receive the nominations for those
prestigious trophies. Per Cory Wright, “I'm honored. It's something I believed
in going into the season, but a year ago I didn't,’ Lehner said. ‘There's so
many that deserve credit. It starts with [my] teammates and the organization. A
lot of credit goes to [Director of Goaltending] Mitch Korn and [Goaltending
Coach] Piero Greco too for helping me adjust some things in my game. It's been
a lot of hard work. It's truly an honor." Robin Lehner was 25-13-0-5 with
a .930Sv% and a 2.13 GAA during the regular season. Lehner established a career
high in shutouts with 6 and wins. Performances by Lehner (25) and Greiss (23)
in 2018-19 are the only other Islanders goalkeeper tandem other than Resch (26)
Smith (25) in 1978-79 to have 23 wins in a season.
During a post-nomination interview, Lehner recalled how 8 or
9 teams were interested in him during free agency last summer, but also spoke
of how that number dropped to two when he disclosed his time in rehab, news of
his struggles with addition and a bipolar diagnosis.
On his Masterton nomination, Lehner told Wright, "It's
for people out there having a bad day that don't see any light at the end of
the tunnel, that don't really want to take up tomorrow or whatever the case may
be," Lehner said. "You just need to get a plan, you have to help
yourself first and get the right help and when you get that you can start your
journey towards whatever you want in life. You can't do it in reverse, you have
to take care of your recover first or it's not going to work. If you can do
that, what's good about this is it shows it can be done with the right
people."
Aside from helping his Islanders continue to fight for a
Stanley Cup win, Lehner wants to help end the stigma around mental health. His
recent hashtag caught my attention — # SickNotWeak. Wow, I thought What a great
way to keep yourself accountable, work towards bettering your life and not
offering an excuse for your life. Lehner truly is a role model to so many
people out there who feel alone and without hope. Here’s to hoping they can all
see how hard he’s fought to restore himself, his family and his pro hockey
career. Not just as a participant, but as a man, a father and husband, and a
teammate. Not just 1 of only 60 men to hold a place on a pro hockey roster as
an NHL goaltender, but as a legitimate, elite goaltender on a surging playoff
team.
Both team leader, Cal Clutterbuck and physical D-Man, Scott
Mayfield (1 point) have been using the layoff to heal up and have resumed
practice with the team. Unfortunately, Johnny Boychuk (2 points) is slated to
be out 3-4 weeks with a lower-body injury. Per Brian Compton, “Coach Barry
Trotz said he was pleased with how the Islanders practiced "with a little
bit more of a pop" and did not seem too concerned about the long layoff.
In fact, he's hoping the Capitals and Hurricanes go the distance.”
The Islanders’ 2nd round opponent will be the winner of the
Capitals-Hurricanes series. The Isles 2nd round series will open in Washington
DC if it’s against the Capitals or back in Brooklyn if the Hurricanes win the
series and dethrone the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
The games will be shown on NBC or NBCSN with postgame
coverage on the MSG stations.
Isles Notes:
Per Eric Hornick, “Isles goalie or coach had ever won their
first two playoff games; both Robin Lehner and Barry Trotz have now won their
first four.”
Cory Wright on top Isles goaltending prospect, “Ilya Sorokin
won the Gagarin Cup - the KHL championship - on Friday, as CSKA Moscow swept
Avangard four games to none. Sorokin was also named the KHL playoff MVP in the
process.
Sorokin had a marvelous playoffs, going 16-4-0 with a 1.20
GAA, a .956 SV% and five shutouts for CSKA. The Islanders' 2014 third-round
pick (78th overall) recorded a pair of shutouts in the Gagarin Cup Final, the
first goalie in KHL history to do so.
The Gagarin Cup and MVP honors cap another stellar season
for Sorokin, who went 28-6-4 during the regular season with a 1.16 GAA, a .940
SV% and a career-high 11 shutouts.
Sorokin has one more year left on his deal with CSKA.”
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