New York Islanders: Top 3 keys to winning Game Six
What do the New York Islanders need to do to win Game 6?
After a dramatic double-overtime Game 5 victory on Tuesday night, the
are looking to force a Game Seven when the puck drops tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Islanders have found a way to make this a series, despite Tampa’s ability to seemingly dominate in all facets of the game, regardless of what the scoreboard or the statistics may say. But this Islanders team has been resilient and they will have to come out strong in order to give themselves a chance to keep this series going. Here is what the team from the island has to do to force that magical Game Seven:
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One is Not Enough
After being bombarded in Game 1 of this series by a score of 8-2, the Islanders have garnered the first tally of every game that has followed. Even if they did not come out guns blazing, they have found a way to beat star netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy before being beaten themselves. But a one-goal lead is not enough. In each game, the one-goal lead has vanished shortly after, as the Islanders struggle to stop one of the best offenses in the game from countering and stealing momentum. While it is easier said than done, the Islanders have struggled to not just get that second goal, but to just generate shots. Vasilevskiy’s rebound control, despite his stellar statistics, has not been as strong as he would like. That being said, the Islanders need to not only increase their shot output in the first period of games, but also crash the net hard and make life as difficult as possible for the Russian netminder. After Game 1, the New York Islanders were coming out firing once the puck dropped with 13 shots in the first period of Game 2 (loss) and 16 shots in the first period of Game 3 (won). But since then, five is the highest amount of shots this team has accumulated in the first period over the last two games. A team cannot expect to score and create chances when this is the case. All the credit to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have done a phenomenal job defensively. But in a do or die scenario, this Islander team needs to find a way to accumulate more chances. If the New York Islanders can gain a two-goal lead at any point of this hockey game, that will give them a significant momentum boost that can allow them to play their game rather than the fast transition game of the Lightning.
Getting the Defense Involved
Something that separates Tampa from many other teams in this league is the weapons they have on the back end. Alternate captain Victor Hedman leads the pack of offensive-defensemen that this team has at their disposal, as he has scored three goals in this series (8 in playoffs), with the backend scoring a total of five. The Islanders’ back end has only scored three goals, one coming on the power play and another coming in the 8-2 loss, which was meaningless at that point. The system under head coach Jon Cooper plays to the strength of his team, as the aggressiveness of his defense creates more opportunities offensively. Whether it be quick up-ice passes or using their speed and strength to break into their offensive zone, it has allowed players like Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point more opportunities towards goal. For the Islanders, we saw last game their ability to mimic the strategy of the Lightning. We saw
making his way into the offensive zone, whether it be skating over the blue line or dumping the puck in and chasing. This provides time for his team to make changes and get some offensive zone time, which has been hard to come by. Only two defensemen failed to record a shot on net in the 2-1 double-overtime victory, with Scott Mayfield leading the pack with three. Pulock did score a goal on the power play, which is something the Islanders need to build off of, as the power play has killed their momentum in critical moments more often than not. On this goal,
used his big frame to screen the Lightning netminder, something we need to see more of to help generate more chances and ultimately goals. While the Islanders’ strength is not the offensive output from their defense, by having more of an aggressive approach this will help level the playing field. The Islanders just need to be able to transition from offense to defense, or they will get caught by the brilliant playmaking of this Lightning team. The Islanders have a gameplan, a gameplan that did its job in Game Five and will look to do pay dividends tonight. But once they get away from that plan, the Lightning have been able to control the pace of play, putting the Islanders in complete survival mode. And while they have survived, it is not a recipe for success.
Staying Structured in the Defensive Zone
The New York Islanders, regardless of how exceptional their defense has been throughout the entirety of this series, have truly struggled to come up with crucial plays in their own zone. Whether it was allowing the Ryan McDonaugh’s pass to Kucherov for the game-winner with 8.8 seconds to play in Game Two or Matt Barzal not boxing out Brayden Point in Game Four, which killed any chance of an Islanders’ comeback, this team needs to build off the defense we saw in their last game. The Lightning have been averaging over thirty shots per game, but through regulation time on Tuesday, this team only allowed the Lightning to register 24 shots. A major reason for that was the number of shots this defense blocked, recording 32 blocked shots when this game finally came to a close. The biggest storyline to why the Islanders have been able to stay alive in this series has been the play of
. While he saw his play dip a little bit in the seven-game series against the Philadelphia Flyers, in which Thomas Greiss got the start for Game Seven, he has looked very strong thus far. Not counting game one, Varlamov has played to a .928 SV%, allowing just 2.25 goals per game over the last four games. But one thing the stats do not show is his timely saves. Last game, he came up big when called upon, making very aggressive saves to give his team a chance to win that hockey game and keep their season alive. He stopped 36 of the Lightning’s 37 shots but more importantly battling to stop every shot while on the penalty kill. While he only faced six shots over Tampa’s three power-play opportunities, the Islanders were in a scary spot once Anthony Beauvillier took a four-minute penalty for high sticking in the closing moments of the third period with the game knotted at one. If Varlamov did not play strong on this kill, the Islanders would already be back on the island. But Varlamov has had to come up with key saves due to mistakes in his own zone. Whether it be turnovers in front of his own net, or players losing their man, he really has put his team on his back. The Lightning are going to create opportunities on their own, so if you give them prime scoring chances on a silver platter, you are digging your own grave. Just like the New York Islanders did in Game Seven against Philly, this team has to play to that level of commitment on the defensive side of the puck. They need to backcheck hard, but more importantly, keep this skilled Lightning forwards to the outside as the best they can and get pucks out of the zone.
Final Thoughts
Let’s be realistic here. Tampa is the better team and has been the better team all series long. The Islanders, and credit to them for their resilient efforts, have come up with big plays at key times to allow them this opportunity tonight. With our without Brayden Point, who is a game-time decision, the Islanders call ill-afford to come out slow. Once that puck drops, they need to gain possession and play the game that has been their bread and butter since entering the bubble.
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If they can stay disciplined and control the pace of play rather than being controlled, the offensive opportunities, which have been slim, will come. The question is can they capitalize enough on those limited opportunities? They did so in Game Five. We need to see that again in Game Six.