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Recap & Review: Well, the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Islanders in five games. While we here believe the Islanders were probably handed an unfair shake towards winning a second game, the better team won the series. The Sabres proved to be just too deep offensively for the Islanders. The Islanders can be proud they played well enough to not get blown out in any game during the series. They fought hard. But they have a lot to work on over the summer if they are to get better. It was a positive season for the Islanders and they will look to build on this playoff appearance and learn for the future. Unfortunately, the Islanders were unable to avoid history as just like in 2003 against Ottawa and 2004 against Tampa Bay, the team split the first two games on the road, but could not muster up a win on home ice. That failure to win at home has stretched the Islanders playoff home losing streak to a franchise worst 6 games. They haven't won a playoff game at NVMC since game 6 of the 2002 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against Toronto. The Preview Review: Ryan Smyth was probably the Islanders best player during the series. He provided leadership and looked like what a captain should be. After the series he admitted he was suffering an MCL injury which hampered him. Jason Blake and Miroslav Satan should have been better. Blake had two good moments, assisting on Asham's goal in game 1 and after receiving some criticism he came out and scored in game 4. Yet, in the end the 40 goal scorer only mustered one goal in the series. Satan didn't show up until game 3 when he clanked a shot off the crossbar in the first period, which may have changed the face of that game completely had it gone in. Game 5 was his best game, when he tallied a lucky goal and then almost scored in the dying second to send the game into OT. But it wasn't meant to be and Satan only came away with 1 goal in the series. For the Sabres, they got ok performances from Daniel Briere and Thomas Vanek. But the guy who really killed the Islanders in the series was Chris Drury, who scored 4 goals and twice had 2 goals games. The Sabres got better performances from their supporting cast and matched the Islanders in the "grinders" department. For the Islanders, Trent Hunter recorded 3 goals in the series. But Viktor Kozlov, Randy Robitaille and Richard Zednik all did not crack the twine. The Intangibles: Tim Connolly returned in the final two games of the regular season and didn't skip a beat against the Islanders, displaying flash and dash. He wasn't a huge factor, but compared to Alexei Yashin's performance, Connolly was Wayne Gretzky. Yashin, went scoreless in 5 games and he has only scored 5 goals in 22 career playoff games as an Islander. The defense: Brian Campbell was great in game 1, blasting two goals by Wade Dubielewicz. For the Islanders, Marc-Andre Bergeron had a big game in game 2 tallying once on the power play which turned out to be the game winner. Overall, the Sabres were better defensively. They got solid defense and they even chipped in offensively getting goals by Lydman and Kalinin. The Islanders did have some surprising performances from young Bruno Gervais, who recorded a goal in the Islanders win and had a valiant effort in game 5. Chris Campoli also recorded a goal in game 5. Brendan Witt did all he could as the team's lone defensive stalwart, even when Sean Hill missed game 5 after he was suspended. The Islanders defense was terribly taken advantage of at times. In game 4, after the blown goal call my referee Mike Leggo, Tom Poti and Bergeron flubbed the puck two or three times leading up to Jason Pominville putting the game away. In game 5, the Islanders could have come back and tied it, had Poti not allowed Connolly to completely walk around him on the fourth goal leading up to Maxim Afinogenov depositing the eventual game winner. Robitaille earlier in game 5 displayed a horrible job of covering his man when he allowed Drew Stafford to walk out to the front of the slot and backhand one past Rick DiPietro. Goaltending: Rick DiPietro came back from his concussion problems and stole the show in game 2 at the HSBC Arena. He most likely won the came playing on pure adrenaline. But as the series went on DiPietro returned to human form and tailed off a bit until he was very sub-par in game 5. On the other end, Ryan Miller was just ok. He didn't win any of the games on his own. This aspect of the series was pretty even. Coaches: Neither team really came away with an advantage here. Both coaches are very good at what they do. In the end the players on the ice for the Sabres were better than the players on the ice for the Islanders. Coach Nolan cannot be questioned for going with DiPietro once he was cleared. There is absolutely no question about that. DiPietro is worlds better than Dubielewicz and without him the Islanders wouldn't have won the one game they did. Stay tuned to islesinfo.com's season review coming soon where we will discuss the future of the Islanders team heading into the summer.
Game 2 Preview: The Islanders lost game 1 by a 4-1 score but it was a close game until the Sabres broke it open in the third period. The Islanders came out and played a bit passive in game 1 and tried to focus on defense because of the Sabres strong attack. But the game plan backfired because the Islanders did not get anything going offensively which was indicative by just one shot on goal in the first period. If the Islanders are going to be successful in game 2, they need to play more aggressive. Their hit leaders like Trent Hunter, Brendan Witt and Sean Hill need to pressure the Sabres forwards. Coach Ted Nolan is not discussing who will start in goal for the Islanders in game two. It is believed it will be Rick DiPietro, who flew into Buffalo on his his on owner Charles Wang's private jet. This time DiPietro has passed his neurological test and took part in practice Friday afternoon. Surely, DiPietro would not have traveled to Buffalo if he wasn't ready to play. Kudos to Wade Dubielewicz for filling in admirably in game one and for his heroic effort in winning the last four game of the regular season to get the Islanders into the dance. DiPietro carried the team on his back all season long and his return could give the Islanders a boost in confidence. The aggressive goaltender could rub off on his team and help them play a more confident aggressive game that they will need to play if they are to win. The DiPietro matchup against fellow American goaltender Ryan Miller will be another interesting storyline to watch. Finally, the Islanders need to generate more offense and that starts with guys like Ryan Smyth, Alexei Yashin, Miroslav Satan and Viktor Kozlov getting more involved.
Tale of the Tape: The Forwards
The Intangibles
Tale of the Tape: The Defense
Tale of the Tape: The Goaltenders
Tale of the Tape: the Coaches
Significant Injuries
More Tale of the Tape - Buffalo outscored the Islanders 15-10 during the regular season in 4 games. GAME: New York Islanders (40-30-12) at Buffalo Sabres (53-21-8). PLAYOFF SERIES: Eastern Conference quarterfinal; Game 1. HOW THEY GOT HERE: Islanders - 92 points; 8th seed.
Sabres - 113 points; 1st seed. Telling Stats... Islanders when winning Game 1 of a
series: 22-3 Islanders
when losing Game 1 of a series: 8-14 Tsn.ca
In Depth Look
Review Isles vs.
Sabres 2006-07: - October 26th: Buffalo defeats the Isles 3-0 at the Nassau
Coliseum
- January 27th: Islanders defeat Buffalo 5-3 at the Nassau Coliseum - March 30th: Buffalo defeats the Isles 6-4 at the HSBC
Arena
Historical Notes Islanders are 3-1 in the all time playoff series vs. the Buffalo Sabres. 1976
Quarterfinals: Islanders defeat Sabres 4 games to 2. 1977
Quarterfinals: Islanders Sweep Sabres 4 games to 0. 1980
Semifinals: Islanders defeat Sabres 4 games to 2. 2007
Quarterfinals: Sabres defeat Islanders 4 games to 1.
Islanders Inspired by 2006 Edmonton Oilers The Islanders are counting on history as inspiration for their colossal battle coming up against the President's Trophy winning Buffalo Sabres. And they only have to look back a year in time. The 2005-06 Edmonton Oilers were the final team to qualify for the 2006 NHL playoffs. They qualified in the last few days of the season so they could face the President's Trophy winning Detroit Red Wings in the first round. The Red Wings finished the regular season with 124 points, 11 more points than second place Ottawa. The Oilers finished with 95 points, 29 points behind the Wings. Yet Edmonton defeated Detroit in 6 games. They would eventually go on to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost a game 7 to the Carolina Hurricanes. So for those who believe the Islanders chances are impossible, the Oilers as some would attest had an even more daunting accomplishment ahead of them and they succeeded. The Islanders finished 21 points behind the Sabres, but they believe anything can happen as the Oilers of 2006 proved. Plus, two members of that Oilers team, Ryan Smyth and Marc-Andre Bergeron, will be there to believe and convince the Islanders that it is possible. Why the Buffalo Sabres Won't Dominate the New York Islanders: Special Teams Going into this series between the Islanders and Sabres, it's hard to not be in awe of the Sabres offensive power. And with all that offense you would expect most to believe the worst thing you can do against them is take penalties and put them on the power play. Well, that will certainly be true for the Islanders who have had problems with taking penalties all season long and they will definitely try to cut that down in the playoffs. But actually, it's the Islanders power play that was more dangerous than the Sabres this season. The Islanders were 12th in the NHL on the power play at 18.1% compared to the Sabres who ranked 17th in the NHL at 17.4%. The Islanders PK is also surprisingly better than the Sabres. The Isles PK unit went 81.8% and ranked 18th, while Buffalo were slightly below that at 18.4% and ranked 20th, which is the bottom third of the league. So taking that into account, if the Sabres power play is not as good as their 5 on 5 play then the Islanders could have another advantage there because their strongest play all season came 5 on 5. Now it's obvious these factors do not detract from the fact the Sabres have more offensive power than the Islanders. But it is something to point out and is quite surprising that the Islanders were better than the Sabres this season at both special teams. Remember, the Islanders tallied three power play goals in their 6-4 loss in Buffalo Mar. 30th. So the Sabres could be vulnerable to the Islanders power play if they take penalties. Key for Islanders: Win at Home If the Islanders are going to win the series against the Sabres, it will obviously be essential to split one of the first two games in Buffalo. THEN, it will be key for the Islanders to win their home games and NOT fall into the trap of recent history. In 2003 and 2004 the Islanders managed to split the first two games on the road against Ottawa and Tampa Bay, but then they came home to a crazy and excited Nassau Coliseum crowd only to drop both contests on their home ice. The Islanders can't let that happen again. Split one of the first two and win your home games. That should be the goal! islesinfo.com Prediction With the way the Islanders finished and the season they have had it's hard to think they won't put up a fight against the Buffalo Sabres. Just as the critics counted the Islanders out at the beginning of the season, most of the series previews surfacing in the last couple of days have the Islanders losing in five games. If the Sabres do happen to dominate the Islanders it will be because their offensive power took advantage of a defense that may not be able to hold up for the battle after struggling through an 82 game regular season struggle. Also, it will be a quick series if combined with the previous statement, the Islanders can't find a way to consistently get the puck past Ryan Miller. So here is my official prediction: The Islanders will win a couple of games and at least make the series a battle by taking it to 6 games. BUT, I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see them pull off an upset. If the Edmonton Oilers can take down a juggernaut like Detroit in 2006, then the Islanders if they succeed defensively can hold out hope that they can pull out an upset as well. The Islanders could catch the Sabres in a very overconfident state as well.
Also returning from Slovakia will be Richard Zednik. He missed the final 2-3 weeks with the Islanders tending to his very ill mother back home. It will be interesting to see if he's in game shape. Word is he will play in game 1, taking Jeff Tambellini's position on the fourth line. Shawn Bates is skating in practice and if the series goes long he could return for game 6 or 7. Bates missed the second half of the regular season with a sports hernia. Defenseman Radek Martinek had the cast removed from his broken leg two weeks ago, but it's still very unlikely he will be able to return at all this year. And finally, the biggest injury question mark is Rick DiPietro. He's back riding the bike and and attempting to keep in shape. Rick recently visited a neurologist and says he hasn't benn feeling any concussion symptoms in a while. He wants to return at some point during this series. While game 2 is highly unlikely, DiPietro didn't even fly with the team to Buffalo, it's possible he could return at Nassau Coliseum for game 3 Monday night if he passes the battery of neurological tests.
The 2007 Easter Miracle Playoff Run Stretch Drive Starting April 3, 2007 the Islanders needed to win their final 4 games. A loss by the Islanders and a win by Montreal would eliminate the Islanders from postseason play. Islanders need more than 1 point or they would be eliminated if Montreal wins. April 3, 2007: Montreal defeats Boston 2-0 Starting April 5, 2007 Islanders need to win final 3 games. Montreal can't gain more than 1 point. Islanders need to defeat Toronto at Nassau Coliseum. April 5, 2007: Islanders defeat Toronto 5-2 Starting April 7, 2007 Islanders need to win final 2 games. Need help from Toronto to defeat Montreal to make April 8th game for Islanders meaningful. April 7, 2007: Islanders defeat Philadelphia 4-2 Starting April 8, 2007 Islanders need to defeat New Jersey on Easter Sunday to qualify for postseason play. April 8, 2007: Islanders defeat New Jersey 3-2 in a shootout
Click here to read all about the deadline day deal that brought Ryan Smyth to the New York Islanders.
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1998-2007 Tom Mascioli
