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.