New York Islanders: Top 3 takeaways from Game 7 victory

The New York Islanders are in the Eastern Conference Final for the first time in 27 years.

After taking a commanding 3-1 series lead, the New York Islanders were unable to close the door in Game Five and Six, as the Philadelphia Flyers won both those games in overtime, to force a Game Seven.

When the puck dropped in this win or go home scenario, the Islanders showed up. Scoring two goals early, the Islanders held on to win 4-0, advancing to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 1993.

Here are the three takeaways from this historic win.

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Defense Jumping in on Offense

The Islanders’ defensive group, which had its fair share of struggles over the last few games, made key contributions last night in the win. While their play in their own zone was phenomenal which we will get to later, we saw something we have not seen in quite a while.

These defenders were getting in on the offense, making key moves at the blue line to create goal-scoring opportunities.

The first two goals of the game came off the sticks of defensemen, the first being an absolute snipe by Scott Mayfield.

This was a crucial first goal for the Islanders, as they had been dominating pace of play and needed a strong start, something they struggled with throughout this series.

Mayfield needed this goal to make up for the unlucky play that happened in double overtime of Game Six.

The Islanders defense would add a second goal, as 37-year old Andy Greene would finish off a beautiful play by Derick Brassard, to give his team a 2-0 lead. Brassard used his stick handling ability to make a nifty move, as Andy Greene was creeping in from the left circle. Flyers’ netminder Carter Hart was unable to see the pass, leading to a wide open cage for Greene.

The Islanders were able to circle the offensive zone tonight with ease, allowing plays like this to happen. This defense, which is praised for their ability to play shutdown hockey in their own zone, and deserving so, came through in the biggest game of the season. With an offense that already ranks third in the playoffs, getting scoring from the backend makes them just that more dangerous.

Playing System to Perfection

It is not up for debate about how good this team is defensively, in the system that head coach Barry Trotz has created. Despite not playing tight enough defensively in a few games this series, the Islanders needed a performance like we saw last night.

From start to finish the Flyers struggled to muster chances. They seemed lifeless, as the Islanders were breaking up plays left and right, controlling the tempo.

With 22 blocks, the Islanders only allowed 16 shots against throughout the sixty-minute affair. The breakdown of this goes to show what kind of level this defense was playing at. The team from Philly registered six shots in the first, three in the second, and in a third period in which we expected to see some push from this strong Flyer team, seven shots was all they were able to get.

When I say defense, I usually mean the six players that play that position. But it goes without saying that the forward group played a huge role in this shutdown performance, as this only happens if all five guys on the ice commit to doing their part in the defensive zone.

Ryan Pulock led all defensemen with four blocks, as Greene, Mayfield, and Nick Leddy recorded three, with Devon Toews blocking one.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who seemingly does it all, blocked three shots as well, even Mat Barzal registering one. It was a team effort on defense for sure in this one.

As the lead built, the Islanders never broke away from their gameplan, in one of the best sixty-minute performances we have seen from this team in the playoffs.

Protecting Thomas Greiss

The biggest question heading into this game was who Trotz would choose to be in net. We got our answer when Thomas Greiss led the Islanders onto the ice for warmups.

Greiss was victorious in his Game Three start, playing well stopping 36 of 38 in the 3-2 win.

How would he fare in his first career Game Seven?

By now, you are probably aware that he played quite well. While all of his teammates and coaches stated that they had confidence in either netminder getting the start, Greiss showed this season how vulnerable he can be when his team in front of him struggles to play the tight-knit defense game that makes them ever so dangerous.

But last night, his defense was phenomenal, pushing Flyers to the outside, and more importantly protecting the front of the net, a weakness for this team all series long.

Greiss was not a busy many by any means as he faced a mere 16 shots, but when called upon he came up with that big save, something that Semyon Varlamov was unable to come up with in Game Six.

When the German netminder made these big saves, the Islanders were right there to clean up rebound opportunities, again something the team struggled to do in the last few games.

Once the buzzer sounded, Greiss had recorded his first career playoff shutout, as he spoke about what it felt like following the game.

“It’s awesome. With the guys in the room, we all compete for each other. It’s a great achievement for the whole team and for the fans. I’m happy to help.”

For Greiss, he was part of history back in 2016, helping the Islanders to advance to the second round for the first time since 1993. Coincidentally enough, this win tonight put the Islanders in the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 1993.

For a player that rode the bench the majority of the second half (20 of the team’s last 27 games), he was a model teammate. When called upon, he was able to bring his “A” game, which we saw back in Game Two, after Semyon Varlamov was pulled, as well as in his Game Four start.

After playing like this, as well as throughout series, there is a high-probability he will be in net for Game One against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Final Takeaways

In a Game Seven, the top players need to show up. But for this Islander team, everyone showed up. All lines were contributing on both sides of the puck, as 12 Islanders picked up points last night, Brock Nelson leading with three.

These are the games where you see the true potential of a team, when their backs are against the wall. As the team from the island heads to Edmonton to face a ferocious Tampa Bay Lightning team, the Islanders need to bring this game and the momentum that came with it, as another tough series begins Monday night.