For the second season in a row, the New York Islanders are heading to the second round of the NHL playoffs.
New York finished off their series against the Washington Capitals last night, winning Game 5 by a score of 4-0.
It wasn’t an overly exciting game but it was a strong enough showing from the Islanders to secure a victory. They limited Washington to just 21 shots, that said, Semyon Varlamov did make some good saves when he needed to and had to work a little bit for the shutout. It was also nice to see New York able to capitalize on one of their power play chances. I will say the fact that New York managed just 11 shots at 5-on-5 isn’t great (according to NaturalStatTrick.com) but the important thing is they got the win.
So now, the scenarios are as follows: if Philadelphia beats Montreal, the Islanders face the Flyers, However, if Montreal knocks out the Flyers, New York will face the Boston Bruins.
Even though they’re the higher seed, I’d definitely prefer to see the Islanders face the Flyers. After watching the Bruins’ series against the Carolina Hurricanes, I’d be a bit less optimistic about the Islanders’ chances against Boston than Philadelphia.
No matter who they face, there’s no debating that the Islanders have looked really good in the playoffs. They completely shut down the Capitals in four of their five games in the series and have a 7-2 record in the postseason so far. Based on the way the Islanders are playing, I expect them to present a serious challenge in the second round, no matter who they face.
Just as a heads up, I’ll be taking a camping trip this weekend and will have limited (if any) access to the internet, so there won’t be any new articles out until Monday!
***NOTE: We've launched a HockeyBuzz Islanders Twitter account! For anyone interested, you can follow @HB_Islanders for updates on articles, Islanders news, etc. We're starting right from scratch, so any followers would be appreciated!***
Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Who would you rather the Islanders face in the second round?
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