Analysis of Games 1 and 2 for the New York Islanders

Game 1 and Game 2 of the Stanley Cup semifinals were two very different stories for the New York Islanders. Game one they were completely dominant and won at a score of 2-1. However they faltered in game two which resulted in a 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Despite losing the latter, the Islanders still accomplished a significant task in giving themselves a home ice advantage when they come to the Nassau Coliseum for games 3 and 4. Here is analysis of games 1 and 2 for the New York Islanders. 

Game 1

This game was the perfect example of the style of play the Islanders need to commit to. For 58 minutes the Islanders were able to keep a very deep and talented scoring team off the board. One way they did this by only giving the Lightning two power play opportunities the entire game. This is key considering how potent the Lightning are on the man advantage. Their aggressive work on the forecheck and their ability to create turnovers was important as well. It limited quality chances for the Lightning and created transition opportunities for themselves. This was the case on the first goal of the game by Mat Barzal; which came off of a Steven Stamkos turnover. Ryan Pulock added to the scoring in the third period with a slap shot that just got by Andrei Vasilevskiy to make it 2-0.

A late six on four opportunity for the Lightning led to a Brayden Point goal that made things interesting in the last minute of play. But the Islanders continued their firm defensive play for the final minute and got a near perfect 2-1 victory in game one. Both Semyon Varlamov and Andrei Vasilevskiy were outstanding in this game, the work of Vasilevsky for the Lightning being one of the biggest reasons they were still in this game until the very end.

Game 2

Seemingly everything that went right for the Islanders in game one, went completely wrong in game two.  The Lightning got an early lead off an Adam Pelech turnover in the Islanders zone. This helped set up Nikita Kucherov’s highlight reel assist on a Brayden Point goal. Later in the period Point blew by Pelech for an opportunity, causing Pelech to seemingly shove him right into Semyon Varlamov. Varlamov would have to leave the game for the period due to the collision but would return. The collision was deemed goaltender interference on Brayden Point by the referees. This was a highly questionable call that led to the first Islanders goal of the night from Brock Nelson on the power play. It appears the referees may have realized they got the call wrong, as they neglected to call a too many men penalty on the Lightning on a play where Ondrej Palat scored the go ahead goal.

Overall, the stifling defense the Islanders had played in game one was not replicated in this game. The Lightning had more time and chances to create quality opportunities in the Islanders zone. Specifically, the Lightning first line burned the Islanders with three of the four goals. This was a problem the Islanders also had with the Boston Bruins first line in the previous series. The lone positive from this game is that Mat Barzal kept his hot streak alive with his third period goal. He has five goals in the last six games after a quiet start to the postseason.

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Featured image courtesy of Android Central

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