All For One: How The Isles Are Dominating
John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Haters gonna hate, right? The New York Islanders trounced the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of their second-round series Monday night with a smothering 4-0 victory. But to hear social media tell the tale, it was the 1990s New Jersey Devils reincarnate doing the damage.
Those 'trap' Devils won three Stanley Cups from 1995-2003 and played in another final during that span (losing to Colorado in 2001), bogging down the neutral zone and crushing the spirits of both opponents and any fans that weren't die-hard New Jersey partisans. And while there is some connective tissue between the old Devils and new Islanders in the form of legendary hockey mind Lou Lamoriello, it's not fair to paint the Isles with such a broad brush - unless you're referring to their ability to win games.
True, the Long Island club has been a defensive powerhouse by surrendering a league-low 1.67 goals-against per game in the playoffs, but they've also been the best offensive team in the Eastern Conference post-season by tallying 3.33 goals-for per game. Overall, New York is fourth in offense and third if you cast aside the eliminated Edmonton Oilers, a team that only played four games total (and lost three of them).
Plus, this Islanders team cannot be accused of sitting back. New York dominated the first period against the Flyers, holding Philadelphia to just four shots on net while posting up 15 of their own. Yes, the Islanders can drop back and hold the fort defensively, but they also have a tenacious forecheck led by the likes of Casey Cizikas, Matt Martin and Leo Komarov, among others. This has always been a team that will hit you and grind you during the Lamoriello/coach Barry Trotz era. And while the Flyers dominated play in the second period, they couldn't get one past New York goalie Semyon Varlamov, allowing the Isles to push back in the third and seal the deal.
"We tried to come back to our game plan," said center Jean-Gabriel Pageau. "Put the puck deep and go win our battles down there. I thought we did a really solid job of that for the most part."
So how far can these Islanders go? They certainly made a statement in Game 1 against the Flyers and if they can repeat the performance three more times, they'll be onto the conference final to face either Boston or Tampa Bay - both formidable foes. The Bruins play excellent two-way hockey and have the high-end elements to burn anyone, while the Lightning are a different beast that is much more reliant on offense. But if Tampa Bay does end up figuring out the Bruins, their strategy would be much the same for the Islanders.
Having said that, it would be folly to count out New York at this point. The Islanders are getting offensive contributions from everywhere right now (Andy Greene scored!), including from team leader Josh Bailey and breakout star Anthony Beauvillier, the 2015 first-round draft pick.
"For us, that's something we take pride in," said captain Anders Lee. "Every guy going out there and playing for one another: it's a mindset and the culture we have in the room. We take care of one another and I think it shows on the ice. If we want to be successful, if we want to make a run, we gotta have everyone pulling the rope. Everybody in this bubble is extremely important to us."
The scary thing for Philadelphia is that the Islanders may not even have been at their peak in Game 1. Trotz noted that the two teams hadn't played each other in a very long time and that this first post-season meeting of the series was very much a feeling-out process. Now that New York has a bit of a handle on the Flyers, the vise could tighten even more. And while that may not sound very exciting for neutral hockey observers, it's very good news for Islanders fans hoping for a long playoff run.
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Isles beat Flyers 3-2, move within win of conference final
New York Islanders goaltender Thomas Greiss (1) makes a save on Philadelphia Flyers left wing Claude Giroux (28) as Islanders center Casey Cizikas (53) defends during the third period of an NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference playoff hockey game, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020, in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
By The Associated Press undefined
TORONTO (AP) — Jean Gabriel Pageau scored the go-ahead goal 7:18 into the third period and the New York Islanders moved within one win of advancing to the Eastern Conference finals with a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday night.
Brock Nelson scored twice, both set up by Josh Bailey, and the Islanders gained a 3-1 lead of the best-of-seven second-round series with Game 5 set for Tuesday night. New York is seeking to make its first conference finals appearance since 1993, when the Islanders lost to Montreal to six games.
Backup goalie Thomas Greiss stopped 36 shots in making his first start of the playoffs.
Sean Couturier and Ivan Provorov scored for the East’s top-seeded Flyers, who were coming off a 3-1 loss on Saturday. Philadelphia lost consecutive games for the first time since an 0-3-1 skid from Dec. 31-Jan. 7.
Philadelphia’s Brian Elliott stopped 30 shots in place of Carter Hart. It was Elliott’s third appearance this postseason, and second start.
STARS 5, AVALANCHE 4
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Radek Faksa had a goal and two assists, Roope Hintz scored the last of three power-play goals by Dallas and the Stars beat Colorado to take 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference semifinal series.
The Stars, who led 3-0 in the first period before Colorado had its first shot on goal, saw their margin cut to one before Hintz was patient with the puck about 7 1/2 minutes into the third period. There were only a couple of seconds left on a power play when he scored on Dallas’ seventh shot during that segment after initially waiting for some traffic to clear.
Dallas then got a gift goal only 32 seconds later when Avalanche rookie defender Cale Makar, who had scored late in the second period, tried to clear a puck from behind his own net and flubbed the attempt. Stars rookie Denis Gurianov knocked it in for a 5-2 lead.
John Klingberg had a goal and an assist for the Stars, who need one win to get to their first conference final since 2008. Game 5 is Monday night.
Valeri Nichushkin scored two goals for the Avalanche. Vladislav Namestnikov added a goal with 3.6 seconds remaining when Colorado had an extra skater on the ice.
Stars goalie Anton Khudobin stopped 33 shots. Pavel Francouz made 21 saves before Michael Hutchinson made his playoff debut and stopped three shots.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 5, CANUCKS 3
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Max Pacioretty scored twice and added an assist, and Vegas rallied for three goals in the third period and beat Vancouver.
The Golden Knights took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven second-round series. With a win in Game 5 on Tuesday, Vegas can eliminate Vancouver, the last Canadian team from the postseason.
William Karlsson, Nate Schmidt, and Chandler Stephenson also scored for Vegas. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves and earned his third win of the playoffs.
Shea Theodore added two assists, giving him four goals and 10 assists in the playoffs.
Bo Horvat, Elias Pettersson, and Tyler Toffoli scored for Vancouver. Jacob Markstrom, in his 14th start, made 28 saves in the loss.
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