Rob Simpson: Isles in Command for the Simplest of Reasons

TORONTO — Like a savant, an augur, a voyant of clair, NYI Hockey Now’s Christian Arnold wrote in his pregame Friday about the New York Islanders having to play 5-on-5 hockey in Game-2 to be successful. Bingo!

Stay out of the box. How many times have you heard that advice or admonishment when a team has spent too much time there. For all of their impressive defensive improvements these past couple of seasons under coach Barry Trotz, the penalty kill hasn’t been the difference-maker for the Isles. In 2019-20 it was middle of the pack.

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Special teams is not an area the Isles will likely win. Thus the emphasis on even strength hockey. The Cap’s went 0-for-2 on the power play in Game 2, the second number of that statistic just as important as the first. Keep the penalty kill off the ice.

Meanwhile, the Capitals did New York a favor. They gifted them five power plays, including two for Too Many Men on the Ice. No surprise, based on that bit of information alone, that the game got a bit sloppy at times. The Islanders took advantage.

Four goals were scored during a 3:58 stretch early in the second period, three of them belonged to the New York Islanders. The first one came on the power play, Nick Leddy ripped a point shot off Braden Holtby’s glove-side post and in.

All things considered, the final score shouldn’t come as a surprise. New York spent almost the entire game at even strength or on the power play. A scenario, with their tenacious style, that played right into their hands. Yes, the Islanders power play only ranked 24th in the league during the regular season, but it’s not like they’re gonna decline the opportunities. The Isles finished the game 1-for-5.

Holtby was better than it looks on paper. He was busy. The New York Islanders dominated the legit scoring opportunities. Washington captain Alexander Ovechkin came out of the blocks like hellfire; shooting from everywhere and hitting everyone that moved. He scored his team’s only two goals. His teammates were apparently not similarly inspired.

They will be, or at least should be, fired up for Game 3. It’s desperation time for the 2018 Stanley Cup champions. The key for New York will be to withstand the initial wave by not getting overzealous. It will be a physical affair. Discipline is the magic word for this pivotal match. It’s that simple.

“We’re just trying to stay on top of them and not give them any room to come at us because obviously the amount of talent that they have,” said New York’s fourth goal scorer, Cal Clutterbuck. “So we’re just trying to get over top of people and stay and fight and stay aggressive.”

Wait, can’t one say this about every team in any game? Maybe, but when you lack the offensive depth and scoring flair that other teams in the Eastern Conference have, it becomes doubly important for the Isles. There is talent, but more importantly, there’s the grind.

“It doesn’t get any easier from here,” added the Islanders’ second goal scorer, Matt Martin. “They have a championship pedigree over there, it’s just gonna get harder and harder from here. So we have to be ready and have to stay true to our game as much as possible and hopefully at the end of the day that’s enough.”

OK, so we’re not necessarily fortune-tellers for making such pregame declarations about even-strength hockey, but if the trend continues, and Martin is correct, Islanders fans might soon be picturing round two in their crystal balls.