It’s win or go home tonight for the New York Islanders, who look to extend their second round series in Carolina against the Hurricanes. Here are five keys for an Islanders win.
1- The Islanders have to shoot more. Though they had 30 shots in Game 3, there were quite a few times it seemed like they were looking for the perfect pass or play instead of taking a shot and as a result of trying to work the puck around, it resulted in no shot altogether. In an elimination game like this, above all else, the Islanders need to get shots on net.
2- The best players need to be the best players. Mathew Barzal was guilty of the previous point, where it sometimes seemed he was looking for any play he could to avoid shooting (not actually but sometimes it sure felt like that). To add to that, Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson and Jordan Eberle have all been inconsistent throughout the series. It’s these players that New York needs to be able to rely on to create scoring chances and drive the bulk of the offense in Game 4.
3- Goaltending needs to be great. Though I’m a strong believer in the fact that Robin Lehner should be back in net tonight, whether it’s him or Thomas Greiss, the starter will need to be rock solid. New York’s goalie tandem has been great all season long and there can’t be any goals given up like the one Justin Williams scored in Game 3.
4- The bench should be shortened if need be. I mentioned this in yesterday’s post but Barry Trotz shouldn’t feel any need to make sure each forward is getting at least 11 minutes on the ice. If it comes down to it, start playing the same players on rotation, only putting depth players on when the key players need a break. This applies to defenseman too, where if someone is having an off game, they can’t be on the ice and later in the game, the Islanders could always switch to a five or maybe even four-man rotation.
5- Special teams need to count. One of the biggest advantages the Islanders have had going for them throughout the playoffs has been their penalty kill, which has gone 19-for-20, killing off 95% of penalties. On the other side of things, the Islanders have scored a power play goal in each of their last two games, so if the opportunity comes, New York needs to be able to capitalize.
Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m.
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