Head coach Barry Trotz said last week that the Islanders were going to treat each of their 56-games as ‘playoff games right from the start.’ Well, if last night was any indication, the team is following their coach’s game plan to a T. They strolled into Madison Square Garden, masks and all, and thumped their rival Rangers, 4-0.
There isn’t much to learn from simply one snippet in what will be a furious and competitive race to the finish line in early May. Games will come fast and furious and there will be highs and lows just like any other season. Contributions will need to come from a myriad of both regular and taxi squad members alike if the Isles are to replicate their 2020 success, in which they made it to the Eastern Conference Final. But, for one night, things look promising,
Some key observations as the teams prepare to meet again Saturday night in game two:
Practice? Who needs practice?: Mathew Barzal missed most of the mini-camp as his agent and Islanders president/general manager Lou Lamoriello worked out a contract. With just days to go, they mutually settled on a three-year pact that pays the dynamic center $21 million dollars. He showed last night, once again, why he’s worth every penny.
On a team starved for offense, Barzal continues to be the driving force behind all creative efforts. The Islanders started slow and choppy before captain Anders Lee and Jordan Eberle took the ice with the crafty star. In a flash of 30 seconds, he created the situation that led to Jack Johnson holding Anders Lee, with Brock Nelson finishing the power play at just 2:33 of the season.
He then scored a brilliant solo goal off the rush, doing something we have not necessarily become accustomed to seeing: shooting the puck. Granted, he was one on three and there was no logical place to dish, but if Barzal ups his shots on goal total, teams won’t know how to defend him. It will make him that much more dangerous.
“You saw, right from the puck drop, I felt we pushed the pace. It was a good, hard sixty minutes from everyone,” Barzal would say via Zoom postgame.
Calm, cool and collected: We have been beating this drum for some time now, but once again, Noah Dobson is everything, to date, he was advertised to be. So smooth coming out of the zone in transition, there is no panic to his game seemingly in any situation.
Having to fill in for the departed Devon Toews and carry those minutes, Dobson logged 20:13, picking up an assist and blocking three shots in his season debut.
Keiffer Bellows is another promising youngster that grabbed an early season start with a terrific mini-camp. Playing on a makeshift third line with J.G. Pageau and Ross Johnston, Bellows was active and around the puck in 10:25, as evidenced by his eight hits recorded.
Defense, defense, defense: The Rangers failed to offer any resistance until midway through the second period, when they began to get their legs and push in the offensive zone. Trotz’s brilliant defensive scheme did not disappoint. Keeping most shots to long range attempts from the blue line or outside the high and low slot areas, Semyon Varlamov had a peaceful night in recording the shutout, stopping 24 shots.
More impressive is that the Islanders were being out-attempted at even strength, 34-27, after two periods, before stepping on the Rangers in the third (even with a 4-0 lead) and earning a decisive 16-5 advantage in Corsi. While advanced statistics fail to tell the complete picture, they are useful in conjunction and show the Islanders did not rest on their lead, continuing to, as Barzal said, ‘push the pace.’
There will be plenty of battles to be had as the Islanders get right back at it with an afternoon practice followed by the rematch Saturday night. The Bruins then come to Nassau Coliseum on Monday afternoon and there are two games with the Capitals on the calendar for next week.
Playoff-intensity hockey is exactly what the Islanders will have to continue playing if they are going to have any chance at coming out of what should be a hard fought division. For one night, they did exactly what they needed to do.
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