Christian Arnold
Puck drop between the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins is quickly approaching and while the Islanders are up in the series, there are still questions facing the team. It is likely rookie netminder Ilya Sorokin will get the nod once again in net and the power play struggled mightily in the first game.
Will the power play improve for Game 2 and will Sorokin be able to have the same magic in Game 2? Below are three major questions facing the Islanders.
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Can the Power Play get it together?
The Islanders went 0-for-2 on the man-advantage on Sunday in Game 1 in ugly fashion. They struggled to enter the zone or generate many chances outside of a pair of shots from eventual hero Kyle Palmieri.
The struggles on the power play were amplified by the fact that the Isles failed to convert on a four-minute man-advantage called on Jeff Carter in the middle of the second period and New York trailing. The Islanders failed to set up anything in the offensive zone and they found themselves trapped in the neutral zone for most of the time.
The Islanders’ power play had failed to convert on too many of its chances during the regular season. As noted in Game 1’s questions, their power play ranked 21st in the league with an 18.8 percent success rate.
That didn’t appear to get much better in Game 1.
“I thought we got spread out a little bit,” Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said about the power play. “Our releases and our exits weren’t clean and, therefore, they were able to get sticks and get into those battles and break up plays and break up your next pass. They were able to anticipate that, jump us, and we didn’t move it quick enough.”
Who will start in net?
Trotz says that Semyon Varlamov is available tonight. Ilya Sorokin was seen practicing in a net all to himself during the morning skate. And the only thing Trotz would say that a Russian goalie would be in net for Game 2.
Deciphering who will start Game 2 for the New York Islanders is turning into a classic murder mystery novel trying to sort out all the clues. In the end, it will likely be Sorokin net, and if that’s the case, then the question becomes will there be any Game 2 setbacks when the puck drops?
Sorokin was lights out for the Islanders when they needed the big-time saves the most on Sunday. He finished the afternoon with 39 stops in the overtime victory.
Trotz has often said during the course of the year that he has trust in both of his goaltenders, and he certainly showed that on Sunday by starting the rookie. Will he have that same faith for Game 2?
Can Mathew Barzal Raise his Game?
Perhaps one of the more surprising aspects of Sunday’s game was the little impact star forward Mathew Barzal had on the outcome.
Barzal only had a lone shot on goal in Game 1 and went two-for-seven from the faceoff circle in the overtime win. If you’re looking for a positive out of that, then at the very least the Islanders’ secondary scoring showed up for them. Palmieri scored twice and was a huge X-Factor for New York and Brock Nelson and Jean-Gabriel stepped up as well offensively.
Perhaps that opens up the game more for Barzal in Game 2 with Pittsburgh knowing that they can’t just hone in on the 23-year-old. However, the New York Islanders will need Barzal to play a bigger role in order to continue their winning ways.
