The New York Islanders went up 2-0 in their qualifying round series, with a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers today.
The first line as a whole looked much better in Game 2. Mathew Barzal was carrying the puck more through the neutral zone and was keeping possession in the offensive zone, while Jordan Eberle picked up two goals, including one where he used his patience to wait out defenders and scored on a nice shot from in close. Anders Lee was also using his body to keep possession in the offensive zone and was working harder to make plays.
Anthony Beauvillier also picked up an assist, making that a three-game point streak for him since hockey returned, if you include the exhibition game. Two other forwards who had great games were Tom Kuhnhackl and Matt Martin. Kuhnhackl was getting some good chances at the front of the net and even set up Matt Martin for New York’s first goal. Aside from the goal, Martin also had another good chance, getting multiple whacks at the puck from in close and forcing Bobrovsky to make a couple great saves.
As expected, Andy Greene was a great replacement for Johnny Boychuk but Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock were New York’s most effective defenders. In net, the Islanders got solid goaltending from Semyon Varlamov. Even though Florida's first goal didn’t look great, Varlamov was screened on both of that one and the second goal. The forwards were generally pretty good at blocking shots or getting sticks in the shooting lane but if they’re not going to block the puck, he needs to see it. Varlamov was as good as he needed to be and most importantly, he was better than Sergei Bobrovsky.
The power play also looked quite a bit better today, converting twice on seven opportunities, and even when the Islanders didn’t score, they were getting some quality chances.
This was another strong game for the Islanders, who will have a chance to wrap up the series tomorrow.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Which depth forward has impressed you the most so far?
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