After taking down the Florida Panthers, Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers last season to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, the New York Islanders’ improbable run came to an end against the juggernaut Tampa Bay Lightning on an Anthony Cirelli overtime goal in Game 6. Now, after taking down the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins, the Islanders will look to avenge their series loss against the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
While the Islanders had their hands full last year trying to contain the Lightning’s vaunted offense, they didn’t have to worry about the team’s captain, Steven Stamkos, who missed the entire series with an abdominal core muscle injury. In addition to now having to attempt to contain Stamkos, the Islanders will be without their own captain, Anders Lee, who is out for the season after tearing his ACL last March. In 27 games during the 2021 season, Lee had 12 goals and 7 assists.
There is no question the Islanders enter the series as huge underdogs. However, the team seems to thrive under that label. They were underdogs in their previous matchups these playoffs against the Penguins and Bruins and last season against the Capitals and Flyers.
While the Islanders lack the star power that teams like the Capitals, Bruins, Penguins and Lightning have, head coach Barry Trotz always seems to get the best out of each of his players, with each contributing immensely to the team’s success. The Islanders are one of the best examples of how great teamwork can defeat great individual talent. In order to even stand a chance at defeating the Lightning, the Islanders will need to perfectly play under Trotz’s system, constantly blocking shots and forcing low danger shots from the outside, avoiding turning the puck over, playing a physical game by finishing their checks and maintaining forechecks and, as a result of these factors, frustrate the opponent.
Perhaps one of the best examples of the Islanders frustrating opponents came in the final three minutes of the series-clinching Game 6 victory over the Bruins. The Islanders wouldn’t let the Bruins pull their goalie to get the extra skater simply by maintaining a forecheck in the Bruins’ zone and constantly passing the puck around. By the time the Bruins finally gained control of the puck and exited the zone, the Islanders had burned approximately 1:20 without even registering a shot on goal in that sequence, leaving the Bruins almost half as much time remaining to score two goals as before the sequence.
Another key determining factor for the series will be whether or not the Islanders can continue to get consistent scoring. Through the first two rounds of the NHL playoffs, no team has scored more goals than the Islanders, with 43. The Lightning rank third with 38.
Much of the Islanders’ scoring has been spread out, but a big factor in their scoring success has been the emergence of Kyle Palmieri. He was acquired around the deadline to fill the goal-scoring hole left due to Lee’s injury. While he struggled with the team in the regular season, scoring just two goals, Palmieri has been one of the team’s best offensive players from the very beginning, scoring two goals in Game 1 of the first round (including the game-winner in overtime). Overall, he leads the team with 7 goals and has registered 2 assists. He’s begun to look like the player the Islanders thought they’d get when they traded for him.
In addition to Palmieri, some of the Islanders’ best offensive performers so far in these playoffs include Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who’s accrued 13 points in 12 games (3 goals, 10 assists), Josh Bailey (5 goals, 6 assists), Anthony Beauvillier (4 goals, 7 assists), Brock Nelson (6 goals, 4 assists), Mathew Barzal (3 goals, 6 assists), Jordan Eberle (3 goals, 5 assists) and Noah Dobson (7 assists).
Throughout this playoff run several Islanders have risen to the occasion. When Semyon Varlamov struggled in Games 2 and 3 against the Penguins, Ilya Sorokin came in to shut them down for the rest of the series, including stopping 48 of 50 shots in the Game 5 win. Mathew Barzal was virtually uncontainable in Games 4 and 5 of the second round, registering a goal and an assist in each game, including the game-winner in Game 4. Brock Nelson’s two goals in Game 6 of that series helped the Islanders clinch the series victory.
One thing the Islanders can’t afford to do against the Lightning is take penalties. During the regular season, the Lightning had the ninth-best power play in the league, at 22.3%. Since getting Nikita Kucherov back from injury at the start of the playoffs, the Lightning have been successful on 15 of 36 power plays, ranking first in the playoffs with a 41.7% success rate. The Islanders have been very good at staying out of the penalty box this season, with 130 minor penalties being more than only the Columbus Blue Jackets’ 127 penalties during the regular season. However, the Islanders are tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for most power play goals allowed in these playoffs with 10. After having the sixth-best penalty kill in the regular season at 83.7%, the Islanders have struggled in that department in the playoffs, with their 61.5% kill rate ranking only better than the Florida Panthers and St. Louis Blues. They’ll need to return to form if they hope to have any chance of stopping the Lightning’s dangerous power play.
While the team managed to contain Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and overcome Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, Tampa Bay’s deadly offense, led by Stamkos (5 goals, 8 assists), Kucherov (5 goals, 13 assists), Brayden Point (8 goals, 4 assists), Cirelli (3 goals, 3 assists), Victor Hedman (11 assists) and Alex Killorn (6 goals, 6 assists), will be their biggest test yet. The Islanders will have plenty of motivation to take down the team that ended their magical run last season. In order for the Islanders to be the best, they’ll have to beat the best in the form of the defending champions.
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