Philly hopes to force a Game Seven despite coming into this one as the underdog
We are now beginning to enter dangerous territory for the Isles. Thankfully, they’re in a spot that they are familiar with. In fact, the Islanders have had multiple chances to eliminate their opponent in every series they have played in this postseason. They could’ve swept the Panthers, but Florida was able to force a fourth game. New York had an opportunity to sweep the Capitals in the next round, but Washington was able to force a fifth game. The other night, the Isles could have closed out Philadelphia, but the Flyers won, so we now move on to a sixth game. When all is said and done though, I still have faith in New York to get the job done.
Before we preview tonight’s matchup, we have to talk about that crazy Game Five. The Isles were able to take an early lead thanks to a power-play goal from Josh Bailey. However, the Flyers scored three unanswered goals, allowing them to enter the third period with a 3-1 lead. It was at this point that Matthew Barzal left the game due to an injury, and the Islanders looked dead in the water. Despite all the odds being stacked against them though, New York would go on to score two goals in less than five minutes to force Overtime. Unfortunately, the Isles ran out of magic in OT. Scott Laughton scored on a redirect to give Philly the 4-3 win. Now, Philadelphia will have to have another miraculous performance if they want their postseason hopes to stay alive.
If you have a conversation with Barry Trotz about Game Five, you wouldn’t realize that the Islanders lost. The Head Coach is one of the best in the league and showed that he had confidence in his guys following that tough overtime loss. “In the third period, I thought we were coming and obviously we were able to get it tied up,” Trotz said. “And we had some early chances in the overtime, some Grade-As that if we score on them, we’re not having this conversation.” The “Grade-A chances” that Trotz is referring to are the point-blank shots Devon Toews and Brock Nelson had in the first five minutes of overtime. Fortunately for Philly, Carter Hart was between the pipes and was able to stop both those attempts on his way to a 29-save performance. He’ll have to be spectacular once again if Philly hopes to force a Game Seven.
Both teams come into this game missing a superstar Center. Matthew Barzal and Sean Couturier are listed as day-to-day with injuries. Barzal has a face injury while Couturier’s injury has not been revealed. According to Islanders’ Coach Barry Trotz, Barzal is “trending in the right direction” for Game Six. On the other side, Rotowire is reporting that Couturier is continuing to be evaluated ahead of tonight’s game, raising some doubts about his availability. Barzal and Couturier have combined for 20 points in 28 postseason games. The Islanders showed that they could make a comeback without Barzal, but winning the game without him will be a tall task. The same can be said for Philly and Sean Couturier.
I am not surprised that the Flyers were able to force a sixth game. I didn’t expect the number one seed in the East to be bounced out of the playoffs in five games. This is Philadelphia baby, the home of Rocky. If they go down, they go down swinging. It also helps that Claude Giroux and James van Riemsdyk came alive for one goal apiece in Game Five. At the end of the day, Philly will need production from those guys again if they want to keep their Stanley Cup hopes alive.
Look, I picked the Islanders to win the series. I see no reason why I should change my pick. The Isles still have one of the better scoring offenses left in the postseason, averaging 3.29 goals per game. Meanwhile, Philly is 16th in scoring amongst all teams that qualified for the postseason. New York will win tonight and close out the series. They have to. Otherwise, they could be in deep trouble. I’m taking the Isles.
