For the second year in a row, the New York Islanders swept the eventual Western Conference Champions in the regular season.
Over the last two seasons, the New York Islanders have had major success over the eventual Western Conference Champions. Last year, the Vegas Golden Knights shocked the world and made an improbable cup run.
Along the way, in the regular season, the Islanders swept them in the two games they played them in. That comes as a surprise because of how far the Islanders were out of the playoff picture by the year’s end.
This year, the same thing happened. In the regular season, the Islanders beat the St Louis Blues twice. The first win came on the road in early January. After the first period, the Islanders found themselves in a 2-0 hole but the team didn’t quit.
They would score four goals in a row, eventually winning by a score of 4-3. That game was kind of the epitome of the 2018-2019 Islanders, down but not out. Just 10 days later, the two teams would play again, this time at the Barclays Center.
This game too was a very on brand game for the Islanders. Robin Lehner was great, allowing just one goal on 31 shots as the Islanders would win in overtime thanks to a Valtteri Filppula overtime goal.
Granted, the St. Louis Blues were not nearly the same team then that they are now. After the second game, the Blues were 20-20-5 with the playoffs as a pipedream.
The Islanders could hang with just about anybody this year, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they swept the eventual Western Conference Champions (even if they didn’t look like a playoff team at the time). With a good offseason, the Islanders should be right back in the mix hanging with the contenders.
Isles Tweet of the Day
Our Stuff
Editorials: Weekly trade rumors
Here are some of the trade rumors that have come up this week that the New York Islanders can look to in order to bolster their attack.
Editorials: Casey Cizikas 2018-2019 season grade
The New York Islanders got a career year out of Casey Cizikas in 2018-2019. Even Casey Cizikas didn’t expect the season that he produced.