For those that say the Isles play boring hockey...
"High-danger chances were in the Isles’ favor, 42-37, according to Natural Stat Trick, and no team thus far in the playoffs has had more." - The Athletic.
"— Winning the skill battle. Hard to imagine, isn’t it, that in a series with three, perhaps four, surefire Hall of Fame players in black and yellow that it was the Islanders’ high-end players who stood out.
Eberle of course was the star, with a goal in each game, including the two in Games 3 and 4 that came on the heels of the Penguins’ opening goals. Brock Nelson scored the winner in each of the last two games and had three goals total. Josh Bailey had three goals, as well, despite he and Nelson getting caved in on shot metrics at even strength.
And let’s not forget Mathew Barzal, who had five assists in the four games and was Eberle’s set-up man all series long. Barzal had room to operate against the Pens’ less-than-mobile defense corps and less-than-committed forwards, and the Isles star center excelled with the puck on his stick.
Compare those lesser names with Crosby, who somehow rang the tying goal off the post in the second period with Robin Lehner looking the wrong way. Crosby finished with a lone assist, his worst playoff total in 12 playoff appearances — he’d never finished a postseason with fewer than four points, in fact."
