Islanders Getting into Playoff Mentality

Final result aside, Monday's punishing game against the Boston Bruins might have been the perfect playoff ramp-up for the New York Islanders, who are set to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the First Round this weekend.
It was by no means an easy, just-get-through-it-healthy, end-of-the-preseason-type affair, as the two teams duked it out with some meaningful stakes, as the Isles still had a puncher's chance of finishing third in the East Division. The Islanders were physical - outhitting the Bruins 41-25 - engaged and played with an edge against an equally gritty, hard-nosed and heavy team in the Bruins.

After playing four games against teams heading to the offseason, Monday's tilt was an appetizer for the type of hockey the Isles will be playing when the playoffs kick off and helped ignite that playoff mentality.
"The last few teams we played, we had Buffalo and then New Jersey, they were out of the playoffs. The physicality wasn't there," Mathew Barzal said. "To get a game like that, a game that was heavy all game - I thought we were heavy too - it was nice to get that feeling back. That competitiveness, a little bit of that hunger, a little bit of that fire. I think it was good for us."

There's no love lost between the Islanders and Penguins, who are meeting in the postseason for a second time in three years, after the Isles swept the Pens in the First Round of 2019. Familiarity breeds contempt and the Islanders and Penguins are more than acquainted after eight regular season meetings this season. The Islanders went 2-4-2 against the Penguins, with six of those matchups coming in February.
"They know who we are and we know who they are, so it's less adjustment for sure," JG Pageau said. "We know there are four good teams and once you get in the playoffs anyone has a chance and I truly believe in our chance to go through those teams."
Trotz said he doesn't expect the Penguins systems or strengths to be radically different in the playoffs. The Islanders coach said his team's focus will be on shoring up their own game with a few days to practice on Long Island. It's the same mentality the Islanders took in the bubble last year on a run to the Eastern Conference Final, using a mini training camp as a springboard to success.
"We've already started the process," Trotz said the morning of the regular season finale. "We're just looking at our game, which we did through the bubble. Also with preparation for the bubble, it's just a reset on some of the things we know. It will a two-or-three-day mini camp."

Trotz later added that whichever team can get to their game first and have the discipline to stick with it will likely emerge out of a loaded East Division. For the Islanders, that means detailed, defensive hockey, forechecking hard and going to the dirty areas. The Islanders led the East Division in hits (1,755) and blocked shots (797), so that commitment will part of their key to their playoff play.
"You have to get to your game and stay to your game," Trotz said. "There's going to be times when the other team is going to have a push and you have to survive those pushes. I like our goaltending, our defense has been solid all year and our forwards have been pretty solid.
Trotz has good reason to like his team's defensive game. The Islanders 128 goals allowed in 56 games (2.29 per game) is eight fewer than the 2018-19 season when they won the Jennings. The team's 10 shutouts are a league-high and both Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin both rank top-10 in GAA and SV% among goalies with 20-or-more games.
Add in a relatively healthy team - minus captain Anders Lee who has been out since early March - and the Islanders are feeling both deep and confident heading into the postseason.

"We like our group, we're confident in our group," Ryan Pulock said. "We made some big additions. The depth of our team is some of our strengths and guys are excited and looking forward to getting this going."
While the Islanders went 1-3-1 in the team's final five games, they utilized that time to rotate and rest players, looking to get healthy for the second season. The Isles had a seven-game winless streak heading into the COVID pause last year, but the veteran group was able to reset when it mattered most and advance to the conference finals. They'll bring that experience to this season and will have to adopt that same mindset to finish some unfinished business.
"We're a pretty confident group," Barzal said. "We've beaten all of the top teams. We've had good games with everybody. Going deep into the playoffs last year I think helps this group as well, we're hungry. Last year was heartbreaking, so this is a hungry group and obviously looking forward to getting it going."