First Round Playoff Talk Thread: Islanders vs Penguins

[MJF]

My hope is the 6-7 days off help them reset the PP like the covid break did back in Feb, so they ride a hot PP for a couple weeks before they forget how to enter the zone, pass quickly and shoot.

I think there are 2 things that need to happen for the power play to be effective.

1. Forwards not holding and hesitating with the puck along the boards.
2. Noah Dobson becoming the QB he was showing signs of becoming before he was on shut down covid protocol.

Point 1 is the same old story. We need quick puck movement, good passes, accurate shots. Not sure if we can get blood out of that stone unless it's more of Pageau and Wahlstrom on PP1. We've seen the rest of our forwards and we know they just lack in this department.

As to the point man on the power play. Ideally it should be Ryan Pulock but it irks me that he still can't get his cannon on net. His shot is terribly inaccurate. Dobson, before he was shut down, was showing signs of being assertive on the point, directing traffic, and getting his shot on goal. Since Dobson came back I think there was a dropoff in his game initially, as was his ice time. He seemed to be playing a very conservative style. Over the last 2 weeks of the season he was getting more ice time and seeming to get some of the mojo he had before he went out of the lineup. Hopefully he raises the level of his game now. I think we were just getting a peek at how good Noah Dobson could be.

 

[mm11]

This is a close series the way I have crunched the numbers.

Normally I would go with the Isles if the game is played 5v5 for the majority of the series. But it's close to a toss up there. Pens are +26 whereas the Isles are +23 5 v5.

Special teams is where this series is going to won. Isles PK has got to be on this series. Isles PK is one of the leagues best this season. We know the Pens have a good PP. Maybe a saw off.

If there is one area the Isles can win this series is if there PP is on for this series. My belief is the Isles will need to score on the PP to win this one. Pens have a mediocre PK this season. This is an area to exploit. This is what I will be watching. A PP goal a game will put the Isles in great position to take this in probably 6 or 7 games.

yes, noticed this, looking for Wally or Palms to pop in a few....LGI

 

[Tahoeblue]

So jealous many of you will be at the barn in person for the last hurrah!!! Have a blast and hope it a successful playoff round.

LGI

 

[Throttle]

I think there are 2 things that need to happen for the power play to be effective.

1. Forwards not holding and hesitating with the puck along the boards.
2. Noah Dobson becoming the QB he was showing signs of becoming before he was on shut down covid protocol.

Point 1 is the same old story. We need quick puck movement, good passes accurate shots. Not sure if we can get blood out of that stone unless it's more of Pageau and Wahlstrom on PP1. We've seen the rest of our forwards and we know they just lack in this department.

As to the point man on the power play. Ideally it should be Ryan Pulock but it irks me that he still can't get his cannon on net. His shot is terribly inaccurate. Dobson, before he was shut down, was showing signs of being assertive on the point, directing traffic, and getting his shot on goal. Since Dobson came back I think there was a dropoff in his game initially, as was his ice time. He seemed to be playing a very conservative style. Over the last 2 weeks of the season he was getting more ice time and seeming to get some of the mojo he had before he went out of the lineup. Hopefully he raises the level of his game now. I think we were just getting a peek at how good Noah Dobson could be.

The problem with Pulock on the PP is his windup is slow and he seems uncomfortable with a one-timer, which a lot of times kills the flow. He seems to lack confidence in the one-timer, so he receives the puck, stops, settles, in the hope this is more effective to get his shot on net. He's become a better overall a d-man and d partner, but his offensive game is kinda meh.

I'll go a step further and say part of the success in this series will depend on Leddy. He's been inconsistent at various times this year. He needs to lead the transition game, but also when he executes it and its in the zone, not stand there, otherwise, the transition was fruitless to get into the zone, be gassed, stand there, and turnover the puck and back down the ice.

 

[doublechili]

The problem with Pulock on the PP

It's funny that when Pulock was still a prospect most of us pictured him being this amazing PP weapon and maybe not so great defensively. Shows what we knew....

 

[jasperk99]

I am waiting to see if Stub Hub prices come down at all for Thursdays game, they have come down a bit from yesterday, but not enough yet for me to bite.

 

[Tahoeblue]

The problem with Pulock on the PP is his windup is slow and he seems uncomfortable with a one-timer, which a lot of times kills the flow. He seems to lack confidence in the one-timer, so he receives the puck, stops, settles, in the hope this is more effective to get his shot on net. He's become a better overall a d-man and d partner, but his offensive game is kinda meh.

I'll go a step further and say part of the success in this series will depend on Leddy. He's been inconsistent at various times this year. He needs to lead the transition game, but also when he executes it and its in the zone, not stand there, otherwise, the transition was fruitless to get into the zone, be gassed, stand there, and turnover the puck and back down the ice.

Totally agree on all points. It's a team game of course, but I feel like Matt Martin will have to play a big role in grinding down the Pens mid Dman and score some timely goals.

 

[PK Cronin]

It's funny that when Pulock was still a prospect most of us pictured him being this amazing PP weapon and maybe not so great defensively. Shows what we knew....

I think those types of skillsets are really hard to judge. I'd imagine at every level he's done well offensively and with getting the shot off, there's no way to know for sure he'd have trouble getting it off at the NHL level. For me it's not really about getting the shot off, it's that he doesn't handle the puck well enough at the blue line to do anything else so it becomes very straightforward to stop. That's a lot of the problems I have with the personnel on our PP (and team), they're all one dimensional. Nelson can shoot it, he can't pass or stickhandle to get out of trouble. Bailey can pass it, refuses to shoot, and isn't fast enough to create threats on his own. Barzal can pass it and skate, but he's reluctant to shoot and is always looking for the pretty one timer. Pulock can bomb it, he can't walk the blue line and doesn't pass well enough to be a creative threat. Leddy can skate and escape trouble, he's not the most creative passer in the world and doesn't shoot particularly well either. It's just a lot of meh options. I'd love to get someone similar to Oshie who can do more than one thing.

The other issue is just the PP setup itself. They're looking for one timers only. The angles of attack suck too, only shooting from the circles. They rarely make good plays to the bumper spot, they don't play from out of the corner at all, they don't use movement at all unless there's a mad scramble either. It's just really bad and it's something that has to be addressed before next season. A better system would produce better results without changing the personnel at all.

 

[Throttle]

It's funny that when Pulock was still a prospect most of us pictured him being this amazing PP weapon and maybe not so great defensively. Shows what we knew....

Kinda what was touted. I just do not see that critical part of his game improving - its been stagnant for several years. The Isles can't rely on it to produce the results. The daggers will come out, however, I would be open to trading him based on his perceived offensive value, obtain a 'lesser' or growing defenseman, and some other asset to help the team in another area.

 

[MJF]

The problem with Pulock on the PP is his windup is slow and he seems uncomfortable with a one-timer, which a lot of times kills the flow. He seems to lack confidence in the one-timer, so he receives the puck, stops, settles, in the hope this is more effective to get his shot on net. He's become a better overall a d-man and d partner, but his offensive game is kinda meh.

I'll go a step further and say part of the success in this series will depend on Leddy. He's been inconsistent at various times this year. He needs to lead the transition game, but also when he executes it and its in the zone, not stand there, otherwise, the transition was fruitless to get into the zone, be gassed, stand there, and turnover the puck and back down the ice.

Leddy will likely get the most ice time of any defenseman. So having him key the transition to offense as well as he did in the bubble last year will be vital to us. Not sure just how much Leds being paired with Mayfield affected his game this year, but something was off about him.

 

[MJF]

It's funny that when Pulock was still a prospect most of us pictured him being this amazing PP weapon and maybe not so great defensively. Shows what we knew....

Who knew he would keep shooting at the net on the right?

 

[The Winter Soldier]

My hope is the 6-7 days off help them reset the PP like the covid break did back in Feb, so they ride a hot PP for a couple weeks before they forget how to enter the zone, pass quickly and shoot.

The thing is Pens PK has been their sore spot this year. Isles PP just have to be slightly better than they have this year. This series may come down to Leddy, Bailey, Nelson, Pageau and Wally. They have been the most productive players on the PP this year for the Isles. Or get more from Barzal, Pulock, Dobson, and Beauvillier who can be better on it.

 

[mm11]

I'm looking for Big game Brock Nelson to awaken. Guy was clutch last year in the post season. If only game six vrs the bolts he could have buried that breakway.

 

[2ndGenIslander]

I'm looking for Big game Brock Nelson to awaken. Guy was clutch last year in the post season. If only game six vrs the bolts he could have buried that breakway.

we'll probably be haunted forever by that missed opportunity

 

[doublechili]

I'm looking for Big game Brock Nelson to awaken. Guy was clutch last year in the post season. If only game six vrs the bolts he could have buried that breakway.

Just need the hypnotist to convince him he's playing in the Minnesota summer league again....

 

[mm11]

Just need the hypnotist to convince him he's playing in the Minnesota summer league again....

Da Beauty!

 

[periferal]

I think there are 2 things that need to happen for the power play to be effective.

1. Forwards not holding and hesitating with the puck along the boards.
2. Noah Dobson becoming the QB he was showing signs of becoming before he was on shut down covid protocol.

Point 1 is the same old story. We need quick puck movement, good passes, accurate shots. Not sure if we can get blood out of that stone unless it's more of Pageau and Wahlstrom on PP1. We've seen the rest of our forwards and we know they just lack in this department.

As to the point man on the power play. Ideally it should be Ryan Pulock but it irks me that he still can't get his cannon on net. His shot is terribly inaccurate. Dobson, before he was shut down, was showing signs of being assertive on the point, directing traffic, and getting his shot on goal. Since Dobson came back I think there was a dropoff in his game initially, as was his ice time. He seemed to be playing a very conservative style. Over the last 2 weeks of the season he was getting more ice time and seeming to get some of the mojo he had before he went out of the lineup. Hopefully he raises the level of his game now. I think we were just getting a peek at how good Noah Dobson could be.

JUST. PLAY. WAHLSTROM.

 

[periferal]

I'm looking for Big game Brock Nelson to awaken. Guy was clutch last year in the post season. If only game six vrs the bolts he could have buried that breakway.

I'm looking for Lou to add guys that don't need to be awoken.

 

[Mr Misunderstood]

I'm looking to Pageau to take the reigns here.

Hope the rest at the end of the season has helped him prepare to be his usual possessed playoff self.

 

[BMOK33]

we'll probably be haunted forever by that missed opportunity

That game 6 last year felt alot like the game 6 vs the Braves for the Mets in 99...you just felt that if Tampa or Atlanta dropped those games there was no chance in hell they were winning game 7. Both had that choking stigma around them failing to win titles or as many titles as they should have won and being forced to a game 7 after being up 3-0 and 3-1 was going to be really tough. I don't think the Isles ever beat Dallas without Pelech though anyway

 

[MJF]

JUST. PLAY. WAHLSTROM.

Now why didn't I think of that?

 

[The Winter Soldier]

I'm looking to Pageau to take the reigns here.

Hope the rest at the end of the season has helped him prepare to be his usual possessed playoff self.

I'm looking for Wally and Dobson to step up their games. I know Dobson's junior pedigree may suggest he is a wildcard here. Depends on his ice time and usage, but he would be a player I feel good about raising his game in the playoffs. Wally had 4 pts in 5 playoff games last year in the AHL, he is a better player today, more equipped to play in the NHL. Hope he surprises and does well. Both players have the pedigree to do better than players in last year's deep run. When you look at it, this team has more upside, if they can get past the Penguins. One game at a time, one series at a time.

 

[MJF]

That game 6 last year felt alot like the game 6 vs the Braves for the Mets in 99...you just felt that if Tampa or Atlanta dropped those games there was no chance in hell they were winning game 7. Both had that choking stigma around them failing to win titles or as many titles as they should have won and being forced to a game 7 after being up 3-0 and 3-1 was going to be really tough. I don't think the Isles ever beat Dallas without Pelech though anyway

I'm still haunted by 2015 Game 7.

 

[Chardo]

This series comes down to Nelson. And Eberle. And Bailey and Beauvillier. And Wahlstrom. And Leddy. And Pageau and Palmieri and Zajac. And Pulock, Pelech, and Dobson. And Greene and Mayfield. And Cizikas and Clutterbuck, definitely Martin. And Barzal and maybe Leo. And of course Varlamov and maybe Sorokin.

And Trotz. We got this.

 

[BMOK33]

I'm still haunted by 2015 Game 7.

They likely were not going anywhere anyway. Obviously we would have gotten a NY series in round 2 but no way were the Isles beating Tampa anyway