The New York Islanders have put an exclamation point on their magical season by securing a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Going into the 2018-19 season, nobody expected much from the New York Islanders. They were a terrible team last season and they lost John Tavares, their best player, in free agency to the Toronto Maple Leafs. While the Islanders did hire Stanley Cup winner Barry Trotz to be their head coach, their roster was underwhelming, to say the least.
However, the Isles have proven everybody, perhaps even including themselves, wrong by securing their spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This is the fourth time in the past seven seasons they have done so. It’s also the first time the Islanders are going to the Stanley Cup Playoffs since the 2015-16 season.
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The Isles made the playoffs in large part thanks to their suffocating defense. Trotz’s system overhauled a system which allowed the most goals in the NHL last season. They’ve gone from allowing the most goals in the league to, as of March 31, allowing the fewest.
Goaltending coach Mitch Korn deserves a ton of credit for this. He’s done a phenomenal job this season, as the Islanders went from having one of the NHL’s worst team save percentages to having one of its best.
Moreover, Korn has done this while working with two goalies who, before this season, hadn’t had much sustained success. He turned Robin Lehner from a guy who took a one-year deal for cheap into someone who will likely be getting a long-term deal. Korn also got Thomas Greiss back on track.
Mathew Barzal started the season off slow, but still has 62 points in 79 games this season. Soon to be free agents Brock Nelson and Anders Lee have done a lot to raise their price tags, combining for 52 goals.
Also, Casey Cizikas had a career season, setting career highs in goals (20) and points (32). For the first time since 1990, the Isles have eight players with at least 15 goals. They’re the only team in the NHL this season with at least eight players having at least 15 goals.
It wasn’t easy for the Islanders, as their scoring has suffered without Tavares. However, thanks to Trotz and a much improved defense, the Isles were able to take the league by storm and make the postseason in the process. They will most likely finish somewhere in the top three in the Metropolitan Division, which is good because they’ll avoid the tough Atlantic Division side of the bracket.