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The New York Islanders begin their second round series against the Boston Bruins tonight. Ahead of Game 1, I’ll give a quick breakdown of how the teams’ rosters compare against one another.
The Islanders had quite a bit of success against the Bruins this year, going 5-2-1 against Boston overall. That said, New York also had a poor record against Pittsburgh before eliminating the Penguins in the first round.
Up front, I don’t think there’s much debate that Boston has the advantage. Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron are deadly, while Taylor Hall was a major addition for the Bruins and has been performing well with the team. David Krejci is still a key piece for Boston too and depth in the form of Jake DeBrusk, Charlie Coyle, Nick Ritchie and Craig Smith gives the Bruins a pretty dangerous forward group. While the Islanders managed to get contributions from different members of their forward group against the Penguins, there simply aren’t enough stars at the top of the forward group.
Defensively, the Islanders are often able to shut down top offenses, largely due to the pairing of Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock. The Bruins, on the other hand, will be led by Charlie McAvoy, with a group that includes Brandon Carlo, Matt Grzelcyk and Mike Reilly. Boston finished with the second-best expected goals against in the league this year (according to NaturalStatTrick.com) but the Islanders have great depth after their top pairing as well, in the form of Nick Leddy, Scott Mayfield and Andy Greene. I think in terms of defense groups, the teams look fairly even.
In net, we’re looking at a fairly similar matchup as well and while the Islanders ranked second in the league in fewest goals against this season, the Bruins were fourth. Semyon Varlamov posted a ridiculous .929 save percentage this year but it’s rookie Ilya Sorokin who New York will turn to, who was undefeated in four playoff games in the first round. That said, Tuukka Rask was great against Washington in the first round and the Bruins have depth in Jeremy Swayman and Jaroslav Halak. I think as a result, both teams would feel pretty confident in their goaltending situations.
The only key area where I’d say one team has a clear advantage over the other is Boston’s forward group. That said, I’d expect this to be a very close and entertaining series.
Puck drop for Game 1 is set for 8 p.m.
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OTHER ARTICLES FROM MAY
Islanders' goaltending remains solid despite team's recent struggles
Weekly Recap: Islanders Edition (May 3)
Looking at the numbers behind the Islanders’ offensive struggles
Weekly Recap: Islanders Edition (May 9)
Playoff Preview: Islanders vs. Penguins
Islanders vs. Penguins Preview: Comparing the forwards
Islanders vs. Penguins Preview: Comparing the defenses
Islanders vs. Penguins Preview: Comparing the goalies
Palmieri scores overtime winner, Islanders take Game 1 over Penguins
Islanders fall 2-1 to Penguins in Game 2, series is tied
Wild third period ends with Game 3 loss for Islanders
Islanders win Game 4 to even series with Penguins
Islanders sneak away with double overtime win in Game 5
Islanders eliminate Penguins with Game 6 win, will face Bruins next 
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