As it sits right now the Islanders are sitting in sixth place and are staring at playing the Washington Capitals in the opening round of the playoffs, which would be a rematch of the opening round of the 1993 playoffs. Now there are still two games left in the regular season for the Islanders, and they are only two points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs, who at present time sit in 5th place in the East. So their is the potential there for the Islanders to move up in the standings. Personally I would be plenty happy having the Islanders sit right where they are because I would want to face the Capitals in the opening round, as compared to the other teams in the top three.
The last time the Islanders made the playoffs was 2006-07, where they got into the playoffs on the last day of the regular season. That year they played the top seeded Buffalo Sabres in the opening round and were eliminated in five games. 1992-93 was the last time the Islanders managed to make it out of the first round of the playoffs. The following year, 1993-94, the Islanders made the playoffs again but were swept by the Rangers in the opening round. After that year the Islanders would not make the playoffs again until 2001-02 when they lost to Toronto in seven games. 2002-03 was another playoff year for the Islanders, and it lead to another opening round playoff exit, this time in five to Ottawa. Then in 2003-04 the Islanders again found themselves in the playoffs, and again they were out in five games thanks to the Tampa Bay Lightning. So with all the things that have gone down in the playoffs the past few times out for the Islanders, they are due for a playoff win.
With the type of year the Islanders have had this season, the playoffs are a very welcome sight for this hockey club. There were some flashing during the early portion of the year, where it looked like the Islanders of the past few years. There were bad bounces, unlucky breaks, and no secondary scoring. Over the past month however, the Islanders have really stepped their play up. Evgeni Nabakov has played incredibly well in net this year, carrying the bulk of the work in net. He has not disappointed this year. At times this year the Islanders blue line has looked weak. Some goals went in off Islanders defenseman, sometimes defenseman would miss their assignments, and it would end up costing them hockey games. During the last month or so of play, the Islanders blue line has really stepped their play up and have become a solid group in helping out Nabakov.
As for the scoring, their had been a problem over the past few seasons of not having much in the way of secondary scoring. It seemed as if it was only the John Tavares line was the only one producing on offense. This year the 2nd line of Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey and Frans Neilsen, have been stepping up their play. Michael Grabner too has stepped his play up as of late and has been scoring a bit more in the past few weeks.
If the Islanders hope for a deep run in the playoffs, or even expect to get out of the opening round of the playoffs, there are a few things that need to happen. Evgeni Nabakov is going to have to play great for the Islanders to have a chance. It wouldn't surprise me if over the final two games of the season, Nabakov gets one or both of those games off to make sure he is rested for the opening round. Also come the opening round, the defense is going to have to be tight, they can't be making some of the mistakes they made earlier in the season. If that happens it will be another quick playoff exit for the team. Finally the Islanders are going to need that secondary scoring to keep on rolling like they have. Two guys I'm looking for to start stepping their play up on offense would be Colin McDonald and Keith Aucoin. both of those guys have been kinda quiet over the last few weeks, and they really need to start heating up again.
What may be helping out the Islanders this year is how well they have played on the road this season. They have turned it on lately at home, but for a good chunk of this season, home hasn't been too kind to the Islanders. Their strength has been playing on the road, so being the lower seed could be a helping factor for the Islanders in the playoffs.
No matter what happens in the playoffs this year, the fact that the Islanders are even there speaks volumes as to how far the team has come this year. This years playoffs should be fun to watch for sure!
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