The New York Islanders have achieved escape velocity from the chaotic wild card race of the east, clinching the third spot in the Metropolitan Division. With the win on Wednesday against the Devils, and the Rangers beating Ottawa to confirm their President’s Trophy, the Islanders have confirmed a rematch with the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Second and third in the Metro, the Canes and Isles are meeting in the playoffs for the second straight year, and third time in 6 seasons. Both of those series ended in defeat for the Isles in 4 and 6 games in 2019 and 2023, respectively.
This was far from the smoothest regular season the Islanders could have experienced. Between the blown leads and OT losses, various winning and losing streaks, and a coaching change, it is a blessing they were able to pull this off at all. That being said, the Islanders are rolling into the first round after finishing the regular season 8-0-1 in their last 9 games, and 39-27-16 overall (94 pts). The final game against Pittsburgh did not have any playoff implications, but it did give us a chance to see Ruslan Iskhakov in his NHL debut (one assist), along with Wahlstrom and Bolduc again while some guys like Barzal and Engvall got to take the night off for rest.
It will be fascinating to see how this team operates in the playoffs under the leadership of Patrick Roy. The Islanders saw a significant change in energy since he joined the bench, and he has the post-season experience of playing for and coaching successful teams. Patty Roy vs Rod the Bod should be an exciting head coach match-up to say the least. We may get some interesting soundbites. Coach Roy also makes history as the first Islanders coach to berth a playoff spot after joining mid-season.
Keys to the Series
The Islanders will have their hands full with Carolina’s offensive prowess, which is much stronger than previous years with the additions of Jake Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Canes will look to activate their defense off the rush with guys like Brent Burns, Dmitry Orlov, and Brady Skjei who can contribute to scoring. The Islanders can’t give them too much space in and around the net, as a team of this caliber will capitalize on that space, no matter who is in net. We have seen the Canes third and fourth lines do a number on them simply by overwhelming them in the O-zone and waiting for the chance to strike.
Goaltending will be a major factor on both ends. Ilya Sorokin has been the starter for much of the season, but it was Varlamov who finished the season 7-0-1 in his last 8 starts to force us into a playoff position. He has looked incredible in net and may be considered for the Game 1 start. Sorokin finished the season with .909 SV% and 3.01 GAA in 55 starts, his worst season statistically, and Varlamov with .918 SV% and 2.60 GAA in 28 games. That is not to say Sorokin won’t show up, but the starting poition is more unclear than we may have thought at the beginning of the season.
The Canes have Freddy Andersen back after a health issue took him out for part of the season. He has a .932 SV% and 1.84 GAA in 16 games, and is backed by Pyotr Kochetkov, who played 42 games and finished with a .911 SV% and 2.33 GAA. Kochetkov is certainly the shakier of the two, and the Isles need their studs like Barzal, Horvat, and Nelson to take advantage if he makes an appearance. Andersen will be tough to crack unless they are really on their game.
As good as the Hurricanes have been for so long, they are known to have the potential to degenerate in the playoffs, having never made it to the Cup finals with this core group. If the Islanders can play physical and with speed, they have a chance to keep up with this juggernaut Carolina team. Hopefully, they will be approaching this series with the sour taste of previous match-ups as fuel to the fire.
In other news, Noah Dobson was on the ice today after suffering an injury in the last week. Very few details are available regarding his status, as is often the case with Lou’s Islanders, but he is potentially going to be ready for Game 1. The star defensemen for the Isles finished the regular season with a career-high 70 pts (10 G, 60 A) in 79 GP.
Lastly, with the regular season over, we have to give special shoutouts to Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri, JG Pageau, and Cal Clutterbuck for finishing the year having played in all 82 games. That is a major accomplishment, especially for a guy like Clutterbuck who did it for the first time in his career. Being a physical player, the alternate captain also hit the 4000 hits milestone this year. Nelson and Palmieri made major contributions with 34 and 30 goals, respectively, providing serious help for Barzy and Horvat throughout the year. Palmieri scored 15 of his goals in the last 23 games, helping the Isles to overcome the odds with a career-high point streak at 7 games.
None of the craziness from this regular season matters anymore. The Islanders are in, and it’s up to them to utilize this opportunity. They will kick off the Stanley Cup playoffs at 5pm EST on Saturday, 4/20 (nice). Let’s go Islanders!
Cover Photo: Dennis DaSilva/NHLI via Getty Images
The Morning Skate 