It wasn’t too long ago when it seemed like most people had been writing the New York Islanders off regarding making the Stanley Cup Playoffs. As it stands, the Islanders sit in third place in the Metropolitan division with two games to play. They control their own destiny. If you had said that sentence on March 22, nobody would have believed it after the Islanders had dropped their sixth straight game at the time.
It’s hard to necessarily pinpoint what has changed, but ever since their big win on the road against the Florida Panthers March 28, this team hasn’t looked back. One of the bigger reasons for their success has been the play of goaltender Semyon Varlamov. Despite not getting the start on Saturday afternoon, Varlamov has been remarkable over this recent stretch of games. In his last six starts, Varlamov has skated to a 5-1-0 record while boasting a .937 save percentage and a 1.99 goals-against average. He has brought his team back from the dead.
With two games left to play, the Islanders have a three-point lead over the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metro and it doesn’t feel like they’re going to let that slip away. While fans around the New York Metropolitan Area were hopeful for an Islanders-Rangers first-round matchup, all signs are pointing towards a rematch from last year against the Carolina Hurricanes.
“This is the type of hockey we want to be playing at this time of the year,” Bo Horvat told Daily Faceoff after the Islanders’ win on Tuesday night against the Rangers.
Despite the Islanders controlling their own destiny at this point, there’s still a ton of excitement surrounding this Eastern Conference playoff race.
“I think it’s all part of it, you’re scoreboard-watching all the time,” Horvat said. “It doesn’t matter,. We’re trying to focus on what we’re doing here. At the end of the day, we have to get the wins behind it.
“Anything can happen, you just got to get in, and that’s what we’re trying to do here. We still have some work to do.”
The biggest area of concern for this group heading into the playoffs is without a doubt their special teams. The penalty kill has been a bugaboo all season, currently dead last in the NHL at 71.8 percent. But the Islanders’ power play has struggled mightily of late, too; in their last 20 games the group has only converted at a 10.2% rate which is the third-worst in the entire NHL. To narrow it down even more, they have the worst power play percentage in the league over their last 11 games (6.3%). You can make the excuse that they were 0-5 in their most recent game because they were without injured Noah Dobson, who quarterbacks their top unit and has the second most power-play points on the team (24), but this is an area they’ll need to fix before the puck drops for the postseason.
“The good thing is that we find ways to pick up points in the standings and win games without having our power play clicking, so, hopefully, eventually, that will be part of the winning,” said head coach Patrick Roy.
Saturday’s finish was a bit disappointing for the Islanders as they let a 2-1 lead slip away late in the third period before they eventually lost in a shootout, but if there is one positive to come out from that game it’s how well goaltender Ilya Sorokin played.
Sorokin only allowed two goals on a total of 43 shots, but after sitting out a few games in the recent stretch, it was big for him to get his confidence back.
“Honestly, I had zero concern,” Roy said about his faith in Sorokin. “He played really well against Chicago and in Columbus, it’s just that Varly is red hot for us.”
This had been Sorokin’s first start since April 4th, where earned a 4-2 win over the Blue Jackets, making 25 saves.
The Islanders’ final two games are in New Jersey against the Devils on Monday night and then they’ll finish up on Wednesday night at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins. If Monday night’s game doesn’t go well for them, that matchup on Wednesday could become a win-and-get-in game for both teams. This team will do everything in its power to avoid putting themselves in that scenario.
Even if the wins aren’t perfect, the way that the Islanders goaltenders are playing, especially Varlamov, this is not a team that opponents will look forward to seeing once the playoffs are underway.
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