New York Islanders: Everything you need to know before the playoffs begin

The New York Islanders have been one of the hottest teams in hockey in the last two months. After acquiring Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks, no one expected the Islanders to make a run at a playoff spot. A brilliant winning percentage later, the New York Islanders sit in the lead for the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Here’s a look at where the New York Islanders stand as they contend for the NHL playoffs.

Forwards

The New York Islanders added a massive boost to their offensive output by acquiring Bo Horvat. Horvat filled a need for the Islanders, which had been sorely lacking in recent seasons, ie the true goal scorers. Zach Parise also fills that role for the Islanders, albeit not as well as Horvat and of course Mathew Barzal.

Barzal is currently out with an injury for the Islanders, but when he returns he will also be a massive help on the offensive side of the puck. The Islanders have underrated center depth. Along with Horvat, Brock Nelson has been a standout for the Islanders this year, making the All-Star Game for the first time in his career.

Defensemen

The New York Islanders pride themselves on being a true defensive trap team that plagued the league in the early 2000s. In the past few seasons, it’s worked perfectly. This season? Not so much. The Islanders defense hasn’t been bad, but they’ve been giving up more shots than most teams in the league. Fortunately for the Islanders, most of those shots come from bad angles and away from the net.

Scott Mayfield has been a standout for the New York Islanders this season, and doesn’t really get the respect he deserves around the NHL. Mayfield leads the Islanders in both blocks and defensive point shares. It’s fair to say when Mayfield is on the ice, the other team isn’t scoring.

Goalies

The Islanders have two of the most underrated goaltenders in the entire league. Ilya Sorokin has had a career season for the Islanders, and has been one of the key differences keeping the Islanders surging in the last month. Sorokin doesn’t have an impressive GAA, but his save percentage is .926, which is well above the league average. That means that Sorokin faces a lot of shots per game, and saves more than most.

The backup in net is a familiar face for the Long Islanders, who have filled in nicely when needed. Semyon Varlamov is a perfectly suitable backup, who the Islanders shouldn’t need to ask much of in the playoffs.