Three areas Islanders have advantage over Boston Bruins

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Head coach Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders speaks to referee Francis Charron #6 (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

A lot has to go right for the New York Islanders to get past the Boston Bruins in the second round. Here’s where the Islanders have a clear advantage.

The New York Islanders and Boston Bruins will face off in the playoffs for the first time since 1983 when the two teams met in the Conference Finals. The Isles won out that series in six games before sweeping the Oilers in the 1983 Stanley Cup finals. Winning their fourth cup in four years and establishing one of the greatest dynasties in NHL history.

On paper, the Boston Bruins look scray. The perfection line is elite. They added a recent Hart Trophy winner for peanuts. And Tuukka Rask has been elite against the Islanders his entire career.

Then there’s the Islanders 8-9-3 record against the Bruins over the last five years is alright. It’s not good but not bad either. Until you consider that five of those wins are from this year. This year the Isles are 5-2-1 against them. So prior to this year they’re 3-7-2. Not good.

But look, there’s reason for hope in this series. Here are three areas where the Isles are better than the Bruins and where they could press that advantage.

Lack of Discipline

A lot of the playoffs is about keeping your cool and not getting caught in the moment. Because that’s when players can go over the line and take a penalty or two. And that can be disastrous in the postseason.

The Bruins were one of the least disciplined teams in the regular season this year. In 56 games, their 300:34 of shorthanded time was the fourth most in the NHL. The Islanders were 30th with 229:03 of shorthanded time on the season.

In these playoffs, the Bruins 37:03 of shorthanded time ranks second. The Isles are 12th (of 16 teams) with 18:54 of shorthanded time.

The Bruins clearly have a discipline issue that the Islanders can and should take advantage of.

The line of Casey Cizikas #53, Matt Martin #17 and Cal Clutterbuck #15 of the New York Islanders. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Deeper Team

With the acquisition of Taylor Hall, the Bruins now have two lines that can hurt the Isles. It’s a potent top-six that should worry any fan. But the Islanders are deeper.

The Isles boast three scoring lines and a fourth line that typically generates more offense than the lines they play against. There’s no doubt that the Islanders are deeper. And at this time of year being this deep matters a lot.

The Isles top line, while hobbled since the loss of Anders Lee can still be an effective unit. The second line – ironically named the killer B’s – was a decisive factor in eliminating the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. And the third line of Pageau-Palmieri-Wahlstrom (assuming the rookie is good to go) gets the soft matchups to find damage.

Then there’s the fourth line. I brought them up for a reason. Because while they play a fourth-line style they aren’t your typical fourth-line. Since 2018-19 the Martin-Cizikas-Cluttebuck top scores 54% more goals than the lines they face. That’s better than most top lines from around the league.

In terms of their share of goals when they're on the ice, the Tatar - Danault - Gallagher line has been the most effective in the NHL since it was put together in 2018-19. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/TMBASJG4zN
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) May 28, 2021

On paper, the Bruins have a better team, with a ton of All-Star talent. But when you look at how deep the Islanders are the Bruins paper advantage goes away quickly. The blue and orange are a deeper team that can generate offense from any of their four lines. Advantage Islanders.

Oliver Wahlstrom #26 of the New York Islanders. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

More Dangerous Team

We know that the New York Islanders play quality over quantity style. They rarely win the Corsi battle on the ice, but that’s OK. They’d rather hold up on a random shot from a low-danger area in the hopes of creating a more dangerous one.

From a fan’s perspective, it can sometimes be a frustrating philosophy to watch. But it works. Creating more high-danger opportunities than their opponents allows a less talented Islanders squad to pick up as many wins as they have.

This season, there are only two teams that created a higher percentage of high-danger opportunities than the Islanders 56.21%. The Colorado Avalanche (58.75%) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (56.78%). That’s it.

The Bruins ranks 14th with a 50.44 HDCF%.

Break those numbers down a bit more and you see that while the Islanders may not have that All-Star lineup like the Bruins do, they do a hell of a good job creating high-danger opportunities for themselves.

*HCF/HDCA stats from NaturalStatTrick and at 5on5 for the 2021 season.

There’s a reason the Isles picked up five wins against the Boston Bruins this season. And it’s not because Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak missed time. They were there for four of the Bruins losses and held a 42.1% HDCF in those losses.

This is a good thing for the Islanders.

Final Thought

Look, I’m clearly pulling at straws with this last one. The Boston Bruins are a scary team. Anyone who says otherwise is wildly overoptimistic.

The Islanders are going to have a hard time getting past the Bruins. If they do manage to get by the B’s it’s not going to be quick. This is going to six or seven games and a lot has to go right for that to happen.

The Islanders have to stay disciplined. Which is easier said than done with Brad Marchand login 21+ minutes a night. The Islanders have to get contributions from all four lines. And they have to score on the high-danger chances they’ll create.

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