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The New York Islanders played three games last week and clinched a playoff spot. Here's a recap of news and notes from the week.


ISLANDERS WIN TWO OF THREE GAMES

The Islanders won two of their three games last week. They dropped another game to the Washington Capitals by a score of 1-0 on Tuesday, before shutting out the New York Rangers in games on Thursday and Saturday. As a strange side note, six of New York’s last eight games have featured a shutout.


ISLANDERS CLINCH PLAYOFF SPOT

The Islanders clinched a playoff spot this week, after a 3-0 win against the New York Rangers. This marks the third year in a row in which the Islanders have qualified for the postseason and the first time they’ve made the playoffs in three straight years since the early 2000s.


VARLAMOV ON SHUTOUT STREAK

While the Islanders already held the most shutouts of any team in the league, Semyon Varlamov’s shutouts against the New York Rangers means he’s now become the sole leader in league shutouts. Varlamov has been dominant lately, with three straight shutouts.



As for our poll question this week, here are the results, along with my thoughts on how they turned out:



QUESTION: Do you expect the Islanders to have both of their goalies starting games in the playoffs?

(Votes: 50)

Yes: 86%
No: 14%

With the way Semyon Varlamov has been playing, he’s likely to be relied on for the start of the postseason. That said, if he struggles at all, New York has a more than capable secondary option in Ilya Sorokin.



QUESTION: Who would you rather the Islanders face in the first round?

(Votes: 156)

Boston Bruins: 37%
Pittsburgh Penguins: 35%
Washington Capitals: 27%

Like the poll suggests, I don’t think there’s a clear favourable matchup here. While New York has had much more success against Boston than Pittsburgh or Washington this season, I don’t know that you really want to draw the Bruins in the first round either.




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