Islanders: Pros and cons of series vs Philadelphia Flyers or Boston Bruins
Who would you rather the New York Islanders face in round two of the playoffs? Here are a few pros and cons for either the Philadelphia Flyers or Boston Bruins.
It took five games for the New York Islanders to eliminate the Washington Capitals from the opening round of the playoffs. Most thought it would be a close series between Barry Trotz and his former team. But it proved to be anything but.
The Islanders dominated the Capitals through the opening three games of the series, running to a commanding 3-0 lead. Fealing the end was close the Caps fought back in the final two periods of Game 4 for their only victory in the series.
To the Isles credit, they made the Capitals look indifferent in Game 5 with a 4-0 win for the gentleman’s sweep.
For now, the Islanders wait for their next opponent in round two that is scheduled to begin as early as Saturday with Colorado and Dallas hitting the ice for Game 1 of their second-round series.
We could find out who the Islanders play in round two tonight. A Philadelphia win in Game 6 versus the Montreal Canadiens will set up a Metro division showdown between the Flyers and Islanders.
But if Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens can win Games 6 and 7 then the Islanders face the Boston Bruins in round two.
Both matchups could prove to be tricky for the New York Islanders. The Flyers finished the round-robin as the top team in the East and seemed poised for a deep playoff run. While the Boston Bruins have had the Isles number for years now.
As we get set for round two, here’s a look at a few pros and cons for the blue and orange in each matchup.
Philadelphia Flyers
Regular-season record: 41-21-7 (89 points)
Record vs Islanders (since 18-19): 5-2-0
Pros
Flyers PP is terrible: The Flyers power play hasn’t been effective in the playoffs. They have four goals in 35 opportunities for an 11.4 percent efficiency. Not that the Islanders should be throwing any stones. The Isles PP isn’t any better converting on six of 38 opportunities (15.8 percent) since the start of the playoffs.
But the only reason the Washington Capitals had any life in their series against the Islanders was their success on the man advantage. The Capital scored 50 percent of their goals in the series on the man advantage.
If the Isles can continue to be strong at 5on5 and the deal with what seems to be a bad Philly PP, the blue and orange are in great shape to progress.
They match up well against Flyers: As divisional opponents, the Islanders have seen plenty of the Philadelphia Flyers. Over the last two seasons, the Isles hold a 5-2-0 record against the Flyers. In three games this season, their record is 3-0-0.
While two of those wins came during the Islanders historic 17-game point streak from October/November, that third win (a 5-3 win with three Barzal helpers) came while the Isles were in complete free fall in the middle of February. The Isles know how to play against the Flyers.
Cons
Carter Hart is great: The 22-year-old Alberta native already has two shutouts in this series against the Habs and holds a 0.935SV% and 2.50 goals saved above average.
Against the Capitals, the Islanders faced Braden Holtby who wasn’t exactly ‘good’ going into the playoffs – with a 0.897SV% and -16.76GSAA – and he wasn’t any better in the playoffs with a 0.895SV% and -2.92GSAA.
(Stats from NaturalStatTrick, for all situations, and from August 11th onward.)
Facing a hot goalie could be an issue for the Isles typical quality over quantity approach.
Good 5on5 team: The Islanders had a ton of success against the Capitals at 5on5. The Islanders scored nearly two-thirds of their goals at 5on5.
The Flyers are much stingier, giving up five of the eleven goals scored by the Habs in their series at 5on5. That’s going to be tough for the Islanders who, as previously mentioned, are terrible on the power play.
Boston Bruins
Regular-season record: 44-14-12 (100 points)
Record vs Islanders (since 18-19): 1-3-2
Pros
Goalie battle: With Tuukka Rask back at home to be with his family, the Islanders have the edge in the goalie department. Jaroslav Halak has been good for the Bruins with a 0.932SV% and 1.08GSAA (in all situations). But Semyon Varlamov has been better with a 0.935SV% and 2.33GSAA.
At 5on5, Varlamov holds a 0.963SV% (ranked third in the playoffs) and 5.34GSAA (ranked first in the playoffs with Jacob Markstrom). At 5on5, Halak holds a 0.908SV% and a -1.65GSAA. Again, Varlamov is the better goalie.
(Again, stats from NaturalStatTrick and from August 11th onward.)
The way these two teams play a series could be decided by the goalie, and on paper that edge goes to the Islanders.
Better Offense: Through five games in the playoffs the Islanders have a better offense than the Boston Bruins. I know. The Isles have scored 3.4 goals per game to the Bruins 3.00 per game.
I know holding 0.40 goals per game edge doesn’t sound like much of an advantage, but consider how both teams fared offensively in the regular season. The Isles ranked 22nd with 2.78 goals per game while the Bruins were the ninth-best offense with 3.24 goals per game.
It wasn’t expected that the Islanders would be good offensively. Josh Bailey is one of the most productive players in the postseason with ten points. While Anthony Beauvillier is one of the most prolific goal scorers in the postseason with six goals.
Cons
Top Guys Going: The trio of Bergeron, Marchand, and Pastrnak have combined for 17 points across the Bruins eight games in the postseason. That already sounds impressive, but consider that most of that production comes in their five games against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Marchand was the only one of the three who had a point in the round-robin. Also, Pastrnak has only played two games against the Hurricanes and still put up four points.
The Bruins top guys weren’t “there” in the round-robin, but now that the games matter they are putting up a ton of points.
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Bad match-up: There’s no better proof that the Bruins are a bad matchup for the Isles than the Islanders 1-3-2 record against the Bruins over the last two years. Push that out to five years and the Islanders are a horrendous 3-10-2 against the Bruins.
The Bruins just know how to beat the Islanders and they’ve done it time and time again for years now.