Subj : Islanders Wore Down Flyers With Textbook Playoff Hockey
To : All
From : The Hockey Writers - Main
Date : Thu Sep 10 2020 04:40 am
The Philadelphia Flyers were the top seed in the Eastern Conference and the New
York Islanders were the sixth, but you wouldn';t know it from watching Game 7
last Saturday night. The veteran Islanders worked for everything they got in
the series but the Flyers had nothing left. New York earned a dominant 4-0 win
to advance to the final four.
In what was an important bounce-back season for Philadelphia, they didn';t play
to their potential when it counted. They looked like world-beaters coming out
of the seeding round-robin, where they defeated the Boston Bruins, Washington
Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning. Then they faced two plucky squads in the
Montreal Canadiens and the Islanders. They didn';t always look good against the
Habs, who they beat in six games, and I';m not sure you can point to a single
game against New York when the Flyers were clearly the better team.Related:
Flyers'; 2014 Draft Revisited
A number of factors went awry for Philadelphia, particularly on the scoring
front, where Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier combined for just
three goals in 16 postseason games. Much of their sputtering offense can be
tied directly to their woeful power play, which scored just four times on 52
opportunities, and didn';t break through once against the Islanders. That';s a
7.7 percent success rate. Sean Couturier and the rest of the Flyers offense
struggled against the Islanders. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
Only four teams drew more penalties, yet only the swept New York Rangers did
worse. You would have to be incredibly lucky, or demigods at 5-on-5, to
overcome a horrible power play in the playoffs. The Flyers were neither.
Underdog Islanders Dominated Series
This series could easily have been over much sooner. All three Philadelphia
wins were in overtime, and they were outplayed through most of the series. It
felt like they were always chasing the Islanders in possession and control.
Even when the Flyers scored first and built a solid lead, which was fairly
often, it felt like a matter of time before the Islanders mounted a comeback.
New York outscored Philadelphia 10-4 in the third period. Had a few bounces
gone the other way, the Flyers might have been swept. Philippe Myers'; overtime
winner in Game 2, for example, became a bouncing knuckleball after it
deflected off Anders Lee';s stick.
New York showed the depth of their lineup, getting plenty of offense from their
bottom two lines and their defenders. Their top-six was also potent. Josh
Bailey has 15 assists in these playoffs. Anthony Beauvillier has eight goals.
Lee, Brock Nelson and Jean-Gabriel Pageau have seven apiece. Mathew Barzal was,
of course, the linchpin of their attack, feeding Lee for goals seemingly every
night, despite that his face was a punching bag for sticks and pucks late in
the series. Jordan Eberle was remarkably snake-bitten but contributed greatly
as a playmaker.
But the Islanders'; unsung defense corps deserves a lot of credit for the
outcome of this series. Along with producing a great deal of scoring, the crew
of Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, Devon Toews, Scott Mayfield, Nick Leddy and Andy
Greene frustrated the Flyers when they did get offensive zone time. (from 'Andy
Greene has quickly become an Islanders lineup staple,'; New York Post,
09/07/2020) New York';s defenders beat the Flyers'; forwards to a lot of loose
pucks and didn';t allow them to create sustained attacking pressure very often.
The Islanders defense contained the Flyers (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
At the opposite end, the Isles used a strong forecheck, physical play and a
good cycle game to force turnovers and maintain possession. They kept working
to get second and third opportunities, which is paramount in tight playoff
games when netminders are stopping everything they can see.Recognition for an
Encouraging Season
Of course, there was one inspiring storyline for the Flyers: the return of
left-winger Oskar Lindblom in Game 6, barely two months after finishing
chemotherapy for bone cancer. He was relied upon quite significantly, too,
playing 17:30 that night and 16:42 in Game 7. Lindblom will be ready to go for
the Flyers whenever the 2020-21 season starts, and that';s incredible given
that he didn';t know last fall if he';d survive, let alone play again.
The 2019-20 season was a big step in the right direction for Philadelphia, and
they have three award nominations to show for it. After missing the playoffs
every second year from 2012-19 and the embarrassment of last season,
particularly the first half, they had a stellar 41-21-7 record this year to sit
fourth in the Eastern Conference.Oskar Lindblom, Philadelphia Flyers (Amy
Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
Although winning is a team effort, the Flyers'; three nominees are recognition
of what they achieved this season. Head coach Alain Vigneault is up for the
Jack Adams Award for coach of the year, and Couturier earned his second
nomination for the Selke Trophy as the league';s best defensive forward.
Lindblom, too, was a finalist for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for
perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the game. He lost to the Ottawa
Senators'; Bobby Ryan, but voting took place before the playoffs and
Lindblom';s return to the ice, so he may well win it next season.Related:
Islanders'; 50-Goal Scorers
It';s also significant that Philadelphia won their first playoff series since
2012 when they dispatched the Canadiens in the first round. There';s no
substitute for playoff experience in player development, particularly winning,
which boosts confidence and sometimes shows young players they';re capable of
much more than they may have thought.
General manager Chuck Fletcher will now turn his attention to next year';s
roster, with the 2020 NHL Draft and the start of unrestricted free agency both
coming up in early October.
The post Islanders Wore Down Flyers With Textbook Playoff Hockey appeared first
on The Hockey Writers.
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