Three areas Islanders have advantage over Boston Bruins

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.