The New York Islanders are heading back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It took the season’s second-to-last game to punch their ticket, but the Islanders are back in the postseason. On Monday, they defeated the New Jersey Devils by a score of 4-1 to clinch the third seed in the Metro Division.
“Ten games ago, no one really gave us a chance to be part of that playoff picture and now here we are,” Islanders head coach Patrick Roy. “We’ve secured that third seed, and it’s nice to see our guys be rewarded for that hard work.”
As previously written on Full Press Hockey, Team President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello believed in his hockey club. It was a roller coaster of a season, but the Islanders are playing some of their best hockey when it matters most—heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
You were not sure what to expect from the Islanders entering the season. They could either be a playoff team or miss by a few points. The Islanders did not make many changes this past offseason or at the NHL Trade Deadline. Lou Lamoriello kept the same team together, and that went back to back to the Conference Finals in 2020 and 2021.
A few players have moved on here and there, but the team’s core has been together since those runs. The biggest thing the Islanders did was change their head coach. Lane Lambert was out, and Patrick Roy came in. Again, it took some time for the Players to adjust to Roy’s coaching style, but the Islanders took off once they did.
Offensively, the Islanders were still one of the weaker teams; however, their offense showed up when they needed to win. Brock Nelson is putting together a quiet 33-goal season. In his first full season with the Islanders, Bo Horvat also has 33 goals with the Islanders. Mathew Barzal put together an 80-point season with the Islanders thus far.
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The offense ran through guys like Nelson, Horvat, Barzal, and Kyle Palmieri, so when the Islanders struggled offensively, those guys were not producing. The New York Islanders still have solid depth scoring but are older. It also helps when one of your defensemen, Noah Dobson, is pitching in with 70 points. Dobson is out of the lineup with an injury but is expected back for the playoffs.
It also helps to have two rock-solid goalies between the pipes: Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov. Sorokin has played a lot of hockey over the past couple of seasons, and you can see he was hitting a wall and needed a break. Enter Varlamov, who has taken over the net. Even Sorokin admitted it’s Varly’s net right now. But those two guys both push each other to be better. So if Varlamov does struggle, Sorokin is there.
They will need those guys to be sharp in their first-round matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes knocked the Islanders out of the playoffs last year, but it wasn’t easy. The Islanders’ defensive system gives the Hurricanes fits. It will be an exciting matchup, for sure.
It is always better to win and get in rather than getting help especially with the what happened Monday night with all the teams battling for the final spots in the Eastern Conference won.
“It’s always better to win and get in. It’s a great feeling in the locker room right now and we’re excited for the challenge,” Matt Martin said.
The New York Islanders close out the regular season on Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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