About New York Islanders

2013 Stanley Cup Playoff Team - New York Islanders

But this is the second season, and the inexperienced New York Islanders are led by MVP candidate John Tavares and #BELIEVE they can do anything. While the Islanders' recent postseason resume is underwhelming, there was a time when they were a dominant NHL postseason force, with a streak of four straight Stanley Cups ending 30 years ago. Twenty years ago, the Islanders upset the President's Trophy winning Penguins in the first round; no one gave them a chance then, maybe - just maybe - this year's team can do it again. The regular season record and the Stanley Cup Playoffs Game 1 result may not seem to show that, but this series won't be won because of the regular season or deep rosters on paper or one bad game. Goalie Evgeni Nabokov has over 80 games of playoff experience, and this New York Islanders team has front-line talent and a potent power play. The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is a race to four games. Are the Islanders fast enough this year, or are they just gaining postseason seasoning for a future Stanley Cup run?

New York Islanders Stanley Cup Playoff Opponent

The New York Islanders are due to move to Brooklyn's Barclays Center in after two more years (beginning 2015-16 season), but for now their home ice remains the confines of the Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders lost both games they hosted versus the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2013 NHL regular season, and they will have to defend their sheet if they hope to get an upset in round one of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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3/4/15: The New York Islanders will be officially punching their ticket to the playoffs soon, that is a near certainty. Meanwhile, the team continues to be one of the best in the NHL in this, their final season at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. They made more team history last Friday in their 2-1 win over visiting Calgary. Goaltender Jaroslav Halak said 26 of 27 shots on goal to earn his 33rd win of the season, the most ever by an Islanders goaltender. That includes an impressive list of Rick DiPietro, Chris Osgood and Billy Smith. The Isles will leave the comfort of Long Island this week with games in Nashville (Thursday), Florida (Saturday) and Toronto (Monday).

2/25/15: The New York Islanders continue to pace the Metropolitan Division, which still comes as a surprise to some. The Isles have been excellent at home at Nassau Coliseum with a 21-8-0 record this season. Ironically, they are getting a huge home-ice advantage in the last season they will be out in Nassau County before moving to Brooklyn. The Isles have owned the Manhattan-based New York Rangers this season, and that is the difference between the two teams in the standings. However, the Rangers have three games in hand and are surging right now, the Islanders are going to have to work to keep on top of the division.

2/18/15: When, oh when, will the NHL step in and break up the New York Islanders? That is a sentenced that has not been uttered in over 30 years, but is kind of true today. The Isles improved to 75 points in the standings with a 6-3 win over the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets last Saturday night. Center John Tavares repeated his All Star Game performance (sort of) with four points (two goals and two assists). That gives him 26 goals and 55 points in 56 games this season. Like the Nashville Predators of the Western Conference, the Isles keep winning and proving that they are for real this season.

2/11/15: For the uninitiated, here is something important to know about hockey players. They are tough. Very, very tough. Take the Islanders Kyle Okposo, for example. He is one of the better players on the team and a big goal scorer. He is going to miss about two month after undergoing surgery to reattach his retina in his eye. Amazingly, he played several games with the injury before ceding to medical attention. One of those games was on January 16th, when he lit up the Pittsburgh Penguins for four goals. He scored another goal and assist the next day. Losing him for two months may haunt the Isles, but they are still well within the comfort zone of making the playoffs.

2/5/15: The Islanders may always be considered the 'second team' in New York, but they are the ones at the top of the Metropolitan standings - looking down at the more established (and reigning Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers). So it is probably time to give the Isles their due. If the standings are not enough to convince, then consider this: John Tavares tied the record for most goals in an All Star Game with four markers. He joined some pretty good company in the record books as well: Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Vincent Damphousse, Mike Garner and Dany Heatley.

1/28/15: It should be high time the New York Islanders get some credit. With the season more than halfway complete, the Islanders entered the All Star break leading the Metropolitan Division with a 31-14-1 record, good for 63 points. That has them three points clear of Pittsburgh and six points up on the New York Rangers. The Islanders are an impressive 7-3 in their last ten and are at the top of the NHL in goal differential at +22. The Islanders host Boston on Thursday, are at Detroit on Saturday and return home to host the Florida Panthers next Tuesday.

1/21/15: OK, national media, it is time to start giving the New York Islanders the respect they deserve this season. The 2014-15 campaign is more than half over and the Islanders are on top of the Metropolitan Division, though they are battling it out with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. But they are not a fluke. In the Battle of New York, they blanked the New York Rangers, who were coming off of a very successful West Coast trip, 3-0. The Islanders will get a great test on Thursday night when they host the Boston Bruins and their new star, rookie David Pasternak.

1/14/15: My how times have changed. It was not that many years ago the New Jersey Devils would be at the top of the standings and the New York Islanders would be buried somewhere near the bottom. Not this year. The Islanders are in first place in the Metropolitan Division, though they are constantly battling the Pittsburgh Penguins for supremacy. The Devils, meanwhile, are third to last in the Eastern Conference and have almost no chance to make the playoffs. Back to the Penguins, though. The Islanders host Pittsburgh on Friday, which would give them a chance to get a little separation.

1/7/15: The NHL season is almost at its midway point and the New York Islanders are pushing for the Metropolitan Division title. Through the end of the 2014 calendar year, the Isles were tied with the mighty Pittsburgh Penguins for the best record in the division, and they have some breathing room over the third and fourth place teams (Washington and New York Rangers). It is their final season in Nassau Coliseum and the Islanders are giving the fans a show with a terrific 14-4 home record. But they are way from the friendly comforts of home and are midway through a long road trip. At least they are getting closer to home with games at New Jersey on Friday and Columbus on Saturday.

12/3/14: Hopefully, there is some help on the way for the struggling Carolina Hurricanes. And they need it. The Hurricanes have only scraped together seven wins on the season and are 3-7 in their last 10 games. Fortunately, injured center Jordan Staal is out of his cast and should be starting off-ice workouts soon. He was expected to miss three to four months with a broken fibula and is not ready to get back on the ice next week. But this is a good sign and he seems to be ahead of schedule. In the meantime, the Hurricanes host Washington, Detroit and New Jersey this week.

11/12/14: We are getting a better idea of what type of team the Islanders are now. The conclusion - this is a pretty good team that has an excellent chance of making the playoffs. The Isles just completed a grueling five game western road trip, playing against Colorado, San Jose, Anaheim, Los Angeles and Arizona over 10 days. They came out of it with a 3-2 record against some of the best teams in the Western Conference. They are 9-5-0 on the season and in second place in the Metropolitan Division. That is a pretty impressive resume for the early going of the schedule.

11/19/14: The Islanders really heated up of late. After a successful West Coast road trip, they continue to play well. They earned their fifth consecutive win against the Florida Panthers last week. They let a late lead slip away, but ended up winning in a shootout, 4-3. The winning streak has pushed the Isles into second place in the Metropolitan Division with 22 points, just one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins. Speaking of the Pens, the Islanders have a home and home with them on Friday (Pittsburgh) and Saturday (New York) before hosting the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.

11/5/14: The Islanders are off to a good start this season and finished the 10 game mark with a respectable 6-4 record. That put them one point in the standings behind the first place Pittsburgh Penguins in the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders figure to be a wildly exciting team to watch this season. They are averaging a healthy 3.5 goals per game, of course they are giving up 3.6 goals per game. So basically, they have a strong offense and a weak defense. Get ready for more high scoring games, which may not always lead to wins, but leads to entertainment and interest.

10/29/14: The Islanders 4-2 start to the season, which put them at the top of the Metropolitan Division with the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers, may be a surprise to some. But it is not a surprise to those that follow the NHL closely. The Islanders have been a team on the rise for a while. What is more impressive than the season start is that they have done it shorthanded. Defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky played in exactly zero of those games, and he is a defensive force. We'll see how good the Islanders are this week with a west coast road trip that includes Colorado and San Jose.

10/22/14: Like the Yankees, Giants and Nicks, the Rangers are considered the premiere New York team for their sport. That generally does not sit well with die-hard Islander fans, though the Isles have had little to show for their efforts over the past few years. However, that may be changing. True, the Rangers did make the Stanley Cup Finals last season, but it is the Isles that are making waves so far this season. They started out on a hot streak with four straight wins and look like a team that is about to make 'the leap'. There are still six more months of the regular season, but do not be surprised if the Islanders are near the top of the standings come playoff time.

10/15/14: The Islanders, who have not been a very good team for a long time, made a lot of waves with their progression last season, and now are looking to make the leap to contender. They showed off their new look last Friday with a 5-3 victory on the road against the Carolina Panthers. They got good returns from newly acquired Mikhail Grabovki, who had a goal, as well as newly acquired Nick Leddy, and newly acquired defenseman Johnny Boychuck who also scored. This week will be telling as the Isles host San Jose, travel to Pittsburgh and then host the Maple Leafs.