Islanders have to climb hockey’s Mount Everest to Win Stanley Cup

The New York Islanders are closing in on clinching a playoff spot. The goal for the blue and orange is clearly to win the Stanley Cup. However, to do so they will have to climb Hockey’s, Mount Everest.

The New York Islanders are still hoping to secure at least the two seed within the East Division. That would mean home ice for at least the first round of the playoffs. The potential opponents the Isles could face are quite the gauntlet.

New York Islanders journey to Stanley Cup akin to climbing Mount Everest

Everyone knows how brutal the Islanders division has been this season. The off-shoot of that is it’s been a playoff mentality for all the teams in the East Division since opening night.

Under this year’s format, all playoff team’s roads will go through their own divisions and then the NHL will reseed when there are four teams remaining (one for each division).

That means to get to the NHL Final Four this season, the Islanders will have to win a best of seven series against two of the top teams in the division between Boston, Pittsburgh, and Washington. It doesn’t get any easier after that.

The Isles if they were to come out of the East would then have to beat either Colorado or Vegas and then quite possibly the defending Stanley-Cup Champions the Tampa Bay to hoist the Cup. Yikes!

That hockey’s version of Mount Everest.

Have to Play Their A-Game

Given the level of the opposition ahead of them if the Islanders are going to reach their ultimate goal, they are going to have to play their A-Game most nights come the playoffs.

They are going to need top-notch goaltending, strong play from their blue line, and overall terrific team defense. The Islanders’ secret sauce is the depth of their roster so getting scoring throughout the lineup should be a strength for them. The Islanders don’t just rely on one line to score.

However, the power play has to contribute for the Isles come the playoffs. No one is saying the Isles power play has to be a dominant force (although that would be nice) but it has to make contributions. As everyone knows it becomes even more difficult to score in the playoffs than in the regular season.

The other thing the Islanders can draw on is their experience from last year’s playoff run. They know the level it takes to win in the playoffs, as well as the 60-minute and beyond effort in every detailed way. The Islanders also have a head coach in Barry Trotz who knows how to steer a team to reach the ultimate goal.

It is a very tough road ahead for the Islanders but if they play their A-Game they are capable of becoming champions.