The New York Islanders had six fewer points and five fewer wins than the Pittsburgh Penguins in the shortened 56 game regular season.
The Penguins were red hot entering the playoffs, winners of eight of their final 10 games while the Islanders limped into the playoffs, managing just a 3-4-3 record down the stretch. But those stats meant nothing when the playoffs started and they started off well for New York, who got an overtime goal from Kyle Palmieri in Game 1.
Fast forward 10 days and the Islanders had a chance to advance with one more win and that’s exactly what they got, thanks to a former Grand Plain Hawk. After a Brock Nelson goal tied Game 6 at three, Ryan Pulock took over as he hammered a shot from the point that beat Tristan Jarry as New York took a 4-3 lead and that goal ended up being the game-winner in a 5-3 win. The win advanced the Isles’ to the East Division final, which begins on Saturday.
The goal was Ryan’s second of the playoffs and Brock Nelson also had a pair of goals in the win.
“It’s always nice when you can help out offensively like that,” said Pulock. “Just finishing out that series at home was really special, it was an electric atmosphere, and it was fun to be a part of.”
In front of more than 9000 fans, the Islanders won their first playoff series at Nassau Coliseum in 28 years, with the last coming back in 1993. New York’s 21 wins on home ice this season were only fewer than Pittsburgh (22) and Colorado (22).
East Division Final:
Next up for New York is a best-of-seven with the Boston Bruins, who finished third in the East Division, two points more than the Islanders. Boston took quick care of Washington beating them in five games.
Both Boston and New York were productive offensively in the first round. The Islanders scored at least three goals in all but one contest as they recorded 21 markers in six games. Boston; meanwhile, had two four-goal games as they scored 16 times. As we look forward to the beginning of the series on Saturday, you could expect a defensive battle.
The Islanders only gave up 128 goals in the regular season — the second-fewest — only behind the Vegas Golden Knights who allowed just 124. Boston allowed just 136 goals against, and just three teams have allowed less than that, (Islanders, Colorado, and Vegas).
Sorokin vs Rask:
Both Ilya Sorokin and Tuukka Rask were fantastic in the first round. Sorokin went 4-0 with a 1.95 goals-against average while Rask was 4-1 with a 1.81 goals-against average to go along with a .941 save percentage.
Sorokin is a rookie in the league after playing in the Kontinental Hockey League last year with CSKA Moscow. He went 4-0 with a 0.73 goals-against average to go along with a superb .966 save percentage. What does this mean? It would appear that the 25-year-old from Mezhdurechensk is the real deal and knows how to get it done when the stakes get higher.
(Photo Credit – Islanders Facebook)
Rask; meanwhile, has nine years on Sorokin and he’s a former Stanley Cup champion, so he’s another goalie that brings his best game when needed. Rask was one of the Bruins that didn’t play in the bubble last year for personal reasons.
More:
New York had the edge in the regular season over Boston, going 5-2-1.
The Bruins and Islanders will play each other in the playoffs for the third time and first since 1983 when New York won the best-of-7 Wales Conference Final in six games on the way to winning the last of four straight Stanley Cup championships.
The Islanders won the first five of the eight regular-season games between the teams in the MassMutual East Division before the Bruins won the last three. The three Bruins victories came after they acquired left wing Taylor Hall from the Buffalo Sabres in a trade on April 12 to strengthen their forward depth behind their top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak.
Hall went on to record 14 points in 16 games with Boston as the team’s scoring average went from 2.72 goals per game before the trade to 3.41 goals per game after the trade. Boston followed that up by averaging 3.20 goals per game against Washington in the first round.
Mathew Barzal was relatively quiet in the first round, recording just three assists in six games, but everyone knows what Barzal is capable of. He led New York with 45 points in 55 games during the regular season and he was key to the Islanders advancing to last year’s Eastern Conference Final as he had 17 points, five of which were goals in 22 playoff games.
(Photo Credit – Islanders Facebook)
The fact is New York will likely be in tougher than they were in the first round. Although Pittsburgh finished first in the conference, Boston has far superior goaltending than Pittsburgh had and their offence can be potent.
“They have a good team, they’re deep, and all lines can score,” ended Pulock. “We have to keep doing our thing. We need to be really steady defensively and we’ll go from there.”
Saturday’s game is set for 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
