The Philadelphia Flyers face the New York Islanders on Monday, April 1 in a game that is a mini-playoff game. Both teams are fighting for playoff spots in the Eastern Conference and a loss for either will put them behind the proverbial eight ball. The Islanders have only won two of their last 10 games and the Flyers have only won three of their last 10 which is one way of saying that one of these teams might make the playoffs but only by stumbling in.
Related: 10 Things To Watch in the Islanders’ Final 10 Games
The question is which team would put up a better fight if they ended up making the playoffs? It’s unlikely the Flyers or the Islanders will make a deep playoff run but they could steal a playoff series and upset a Cup contender in the first round. The Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, and New York Rangers could all face either Metropolitan Division team and the two teams have their positives and negatives.
Flyers Play up to Their Competition
Credit head coach John Tortorella, who was hired last offseason, for having this team not only ahead of schedule but prepared to play on a nightly basis. The Flyers weren’t expected to compete this season as they were still in the early phases of a rebuild yet they’ve outplayed most of the teams on their schedule.
The result is a team that has been in a playoff position all season and even as they are sliding in the standings, they’re still clinging to a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. On offense, they generate effective shots on the net and when they generate scoring chances consistently, they can run up the score on any team. Their defense meanwhile is what has carried them all season. The unit is a younger one than in previous seasons with Cam York and Yegor Zamula, both of whom are 23 years old, taking on big roles while veterans Travis Sanheim and Nick Seeler remain anchors of the defense.
The Flyers have not only played up to their competition, they’ve played well against teams they will likely face in a playoff series. They took two of three against the Panthers and went 1-2-1 against the Hurricanes. While they lost all three games in the season series to the Rangers, they lost them by a combined four goals. The Flyers would be a team that could sneak into the playoffs and in the first round make every game a grind, one where juggernauts would have to fight for their victories.
Islanders’ Veteran-Heavy Roster Makes Them a Tough Out
The Islanders have an aging core which, for the most part, has left them a step behind the rest of the league. With the same roster from the past few seasons, aside from a few tweaks, they have a low ceiling and aren’t expected to make a deep playoff run. That said, their experience and style make them a tough team to go up against in a seven-game series.
Last season, the Hurricanes outplayed them in the first round but saw firsthand how difficult the series was. The Islanders slowed games down and dared the Hurricanes to win with defense and depth scoring. Even though the Islanders were outmatched, they managed to push the series to six games. They can make contenders uncomfortable and the forecheckers in particular can make a series a long, hard-fought one.
This Islanders roster is slightly different as it’s more top-heavy but its core is similar. Cal Clutterbuck, Casey Cizikas, and the hard-hitting fourth-line skaters are still in the lineup and they pose a unique challenge to the contenders who are built on speed and skill. Except this team does have speed and skill as well with Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat leading the top line while Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri fuel the second line. If the Islanders play in a high-scoring series, they can go toe-to-toe with anyone in a playoff series.
Islanders’ Lack of Depth Makes Them Vulnerable
In previous seasons, the Islanders were led by their depth but didn’t have star power. This season, it’s the opposite. Barzal, Horvat, Nelson, and Palmieri account for most of the offense. The four skaters have scored 105 of the team’s 215 goals this season. Take them away and the forward unit falls apart.
The same is true about the defense which used to be a strength but has become a weak link this season. Sure Noah Dobson has been great on both ends of the ice and Alexander Romanov has stepped up defensively but after that, there’s a drop. This season in particular the defensemen have struggled to move the puck out of the defensive zone and up the ice and in multiple instances, an outlet pass has become a quick scoring chance for the opposition.
Any team that faces the Islanders in the playoffs will overwhelm them on the later lines. The contenders can and will find depth scoring to make a difference in close games, but the Islanders won’t. On top of that, opponents can make games a goaltending duel knowing they’ll have the upper hand with Ilya Sorokin having a rough season while Semyon Varlamov remains a backup but can’t carry a team deep in the playoffs.
Flyers Have Been a Flawed Second-Half Team
Since their Jan. 20 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, the Flyers have gone 11-15-4 and have struggled at both ends of the ice. One reason has been their goaltending which hasn’t been the same since Carter Hart was removed from the roster. Samuel Ersson has struggled to hold down the fort and for a team that relies heavily on great goaltending, it’s proven costly.
The Flyers also don’t have the talent to keep up with the elite teams in the conference. They put up good fights against the Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Toronto Maple Leafs, but the stars on the other teams showed up and took over those games whether it was David Pastrnak, Nikita Kucherov, or Auston Matthews. Their top players can’t match those of the other elite teams in the league and it’s proven that there’s a gap between them and the Cup contenders. In that game against the Avalanche, by the way, Nathan MacKinnon, who is a Hart Trophy frontrunner, scored two goals and two assists to will his team to a 7-4 victory.
As a team stumbling into the playoffs, the Flyers look like desirable opponents. They don’t have a goaltender they can rely on and to make matters worse, their offense is averaging only 2.87 goals per game. They can play up to their competition but ultimately, talent can and likely will win out and a Cup contender can make the series against them a quick one.
Who Has The Edge?
The Flyers, quite literally, are the wild card of the two and possess more unknowns. The Islanders have reached the playoffs in four of the past five seasons and many of the top teams have faced them before so they know for the most part what they are getting. The Flyers on the other hand could fall flat in a series but with Tortorella, they would revel in the underdog role and surprise a contender.
That’s what happened when Tortorella led the Columbus Blue Jackets to the playoffs in the 2018-19 season. They were the final team in and met the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Lightning who were coming off a historic season. The Blue Jackets won the series in a stunning sweep of the Lightning.
This doesn’t mean the Flyers have the edge but they are the more intriguing team to see in a playoff series. The Islanders might be the tougher matchup with their star power in the top six and the net as Sorokin or Varlamov can steal a series. Likewise, Patrick Roy as a head coach is an unknown as he’s taken over the team midseason and is still trying to find an identity with this team. However, from a roster standpoint, the Flyers are a new team and have a higher ceiling because of it.
Which team do you think is a tougher matchup in the playoffs? Let us know in the comments section below.
