PREVIEW – Round 2: Flyers vs New York Islanders
After winning the Round Robin and disposing of the newly hated rival Montreal Canadiens… wait, what?
Are there some of you who DON’T hate the Montreal Canadiens after that first-round series against the Flyers? Really?
- Do you need to be reminded of the Kotkaniemi cheap shot right into the back of Travis Sanheim into the boards instead of him slowing down?
- Or the cowardly sucker punch attempt by their “stand up guy” captain Shea Weber?
- Or the “Karma got you back for the Stepan hit in 2014” Brendan Gallagher?
- Maybe it was the tap on the head of Carter Hart by Nick Suzuki?
- Or how their fans and media go on and on about their up and coming young players and prospects. Ummm hello?
Have you not noticed how young the Flyers core is and how many good young prospects they have coming? Yeah, like Hart, Provorov, Myers, Sanheim, Farabee, Konecny, Aube-Kubel, Frost, York, Brink and that’s not counting Nolan Patrick and Oskar Lindblom.
Hey Habs, hope you’re enjoying your 24th place team trying to perfect their golf game! And… there you go, you HATE them again. GOOD!
Ok, now on to bigger and better things: The second-round vs the New York Islanders!
Overview
To be honest I absolutely hate this matchup for the Flyers. For whatever reason, the Islanders have played the Flyers really tough the last few seasons, and I don’t think that’s going to change in this series. They have a well-balanced attack, a good defenseman who can skate and jump in on the rush really well, and although not household names, their goalie’s play is really solid. Just like the Flyers, they aren’t afraid to roll out all four lines and they can all chip in and score timely goals.
This will not be an easy out for the Flyers and many fans would have preferred a match up with the Capitals, Bruins, or Blue Jackets because of how well the Flyers have played those teams in recent memory.
If the Flyers have thought us anything this season, it’s that they are a resilient bunch and can definitely get the job done here if they stick to head coach Alain Vigneault’s game plan.
The Defense
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One thing you can bet on is that the Barry Trotz lead Islanders are going to put the Flyers young defense to the test here. As mentioned, the Islanders have 4 lines that can burn you. They’re big bodies and they can clog that neutral zone pretty darn quickly.
Josh Baily currently leads the team with 10 points in the playoffs, followed by Beauvillier at 9 points (including 6 goals in 9 games), and then Barzal and Nelson each with 7 points in 9 games. I’m not worried about the Provorov and Niskanen pairing, who will hold their own. The Islanders will surely test Sanheim and Myers.
As I like to call them, however, “The Twin Towers” are up for the challenge. They’re big, strong, and can outreach almost anyone. The smooth-skating defensemen will have to be careful and pick their moments of when to jump into the play offensively because the Islanders can make you pay if you choose poorly.
I am worried about the third pairing though. I’m not sure that either Braun or Hagg can keep up with Islanders skating. That’s why I’m calling for Gostisbehere to be in the lineup in this series. He’s a good skater and can get to pucks quicker and finesse around the Islanders forwards. I’d like to see more of Ghost and Hagg as the third pairing leaving Braun as the odd man out.
The Offense
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The Flyers need to get the offense going. They had a well-balanced attack all season and somehow the offense dried up against the lowly Canadiens. If you think the reason for that is that the Canadiens defense played really well and goaltender Carey Price shut the door on them, then guess what? It’s not going to get any easier. Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov started all 9 playoff games for the Islanders and has a 1.67 GAA and a .934 SV%. So, he’s another goalie who can shut the door pretty quickly. To me, Couturier. Travis Konecny and Claude Giroux not having scored yet is REALLY concerning. Couturier in particular has always bee really good offensively in the playoffs and although defensively he’s been absolutely fantastic, he needs to get going and quickly.
Giroux has been great in shutting down the opposition and along with Couturier have been phenomenal in the faceoff circle, but the Flyers really need their captain to produce some offense, especially on the powerplay which has completely dried up. I loved the duo of Farabee and Aube-Kubel. They were generating offensive chances on that third line when they were together. Hopefully, NAK is ok to play and they can get right back in there.
As a third-line center, Grant has done many things correctly and has worked his butt off, but offensively he’s gone MIA. Perhaps we’ll have a Frost sighting in this series as a result. And of course, as soon as the team’s doctors give Oskar Lindblom the green light, he needs to get in the line-up. That kind of emotional lift can take a team all the way to a championship.
The Goaltending
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This is the least of my concerns. Carter Hart has been great in his first-ever playoff experience. In 8 games played so far, he’s posted very impressive numbers, with 6 wins, a 1.71 GAA, a .943 SV%, and 2 shutouts. But what’s even more impressive is that in the 4 wins against the Canadiens, he allowed a GRAND TOTAL of 3 goals and had 2 shutouts. He’s been very poised and unshakable.
The Canadiens tried everything to get into his head and get him off his game, even shamefully resorting to patting him on his head, like he was a small child. How did he respond? By closing the door on them and sealing the series for the Flyers. Hart has to be just as good if not better to beat the Islanders, something he is more than capable of doing.
Finally
Finally, I have the Flyers beating the Islanders in 6 games for a few simple reasons: First, how long can Couturier, Giroux, Konecny, and Hayes go without scoring? I think they will break through this series, much to the dismay of the Islanders. I also think Hart will outduel Varlamov.
I like the Flyers defensemen a lot more than the Islanders defensemen, and Alain Vigneault having home ice and last change over Barry Trotz’s version of the “trap” and the way they eliminate the neutral zone, will be a difference-maker.
Featured Image: John E. Sokolowski
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