New York Islanders vs Pittsburgh Penguins Playoff Preview

Predictions

While the Islanders are the better defensive team, it’s pretty clear who the better offense is. Sure, the saying goes defense wins championships but you would be nieve to write off the Pittsburgh Penguins who have done this so many times in years gone by.

On the flip side, there’s no reason to think that Robin Lehner can’t be just as good as his regular season. He has shown no signs of slowing down, it’s just a matter of if the Islanders offense can keep up.

I think there’s one or maybe two games where the Penguins get four or more goals. You can’t hold back that offense in every game of a seven-game series. With the Islanders physicality of the fourth line, they should be able to grind it out most nights against Pittsburgh.

Certainly, the power play, or lack thereof, is a major concern for the Isles going into the playoffs. If they can somehow be mediocre on the power play instead of brutally bad I think we’ll take it.

Ultimately, I give the Islanders the slight edge in the series. It’s not going to be an easy one, but the Islanders will win the series in six games.

The Isles should’ve beat Pittsburgh six years ago in the playoffs, if they had a goalie, now the goalie is top notch. If this team plays their game there’s no reason to believe they can’t get this done.