The New York Islanders and Florida Panthers play totally opposite styles, and with veteran head coaches behind each bench, this Eastern Conference matchup could turn into somewhat of a chess match.
Florida has made the postseason just twice during the last two decades, while the Islanders look to crack the playoffs for the fourth time in six seasons. Can the Panthers' run-and-gun style overwhelm the Islanders, or will New York's pesky approach knock Florida off its game?
Schedule
Game
Date
Time (ET)
1
Sat. Aug. 1
4 p.m.
2
Tue. Aug. 4
12:00 p.m.
3
Wed. Aug. 5
12:00 p.m.
4*
Fri. Aug. 7
TBD
5*
Sun. Aug. 9
TBD
*If necessary
Tale of the tape
Panthers
Stat
Islanders
35-26-8
Record
35-23-10
3.30 (6)
Goals per game
2.78 (22)
3.25 (29)
Goals against
2.79 (9)
21.3 (10)
Power play %
17.3 (24)
78.5 (20)
Penalty kill %
80.7 (15)
49.79 (16)
5-on-5 Corsi For %
46.45 (29)
9.01 (6)
5-on-5 SH%
7.88 (19)
.911 (29)
5-on-5 SV%
.923 (10)
Season series
The Islanders implemented their game plan to its fullest against Florida in 2019-20, sweeping the season series 3-0 and holding the Panthers to just four goals across those contests. Netminder Thomas Greiss stood tall in all three games for New York while Panthers stars Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov combined for only one even-strength point.
It's hard to weigh the significance of those results, however, as the two clubs haven't faced off in nearly eight months; all three meetings came prior to Dec. 13, and each side has made key changes since. The deadline addition of Jean-Gabriel Pageau will help the Islanders match up at center, and Panthers newcomers Erik Haula and Lucas Wallmark round out Florida's offensive depth.
Key players to watch
Aleksander Barkov
Eliot J. Schechter / National Hockey League / Getty
A premier two-way talent, Barkov will be tasked with catalyzing the Panthers' offense and keeping the Islanders' top scorers in check. The Finnish star slightly regressed offensively this season following his career-best 96-point campaign in 2018-19, but he remains the team's most important player and is counted upon in all situations.
One of the key matchups in this series will likely feature Barkov's line going against the defensive pairing of Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock. Only four blue-liners spent more time on the ice against Barkov than the Islanders' shutdown duo this season. Though Barkov struggled to find the net, the Panthers' captain posted a dominant Corsi For rating (71.05) and expected goals-for percentage (67.77) while on the ice against Pulock and Pelech.
Mathew Barzal
Mike Stobe / National Hockey League / Getty
Barzal's tremendous vision and elite skating ability have helped him become one of the game's most dangerous playmakers. The 23-year-old tallied seven points in eight playoff games last spring and led the Islanders in scoring with 60 points in 68 contests this season while pacing the club's forwards in average ice time (20:03).
He's a possession monster whose ability to control the play gave the Panthers nightmares this season. New York owned 60.11% of expected goals for against Florida with Barzal on the ice at five-on-five and 64% of high-danger scoring chances. He also found the scoresheet in all three meetings, netting two goals and four points.
Florida will need to be particularly aware of Barzal in transition. The crafty pivot ranked second in the league with 66 takeaways at five-on-five and will make the Panthers pay for any mistakes in the neutral zone.
Panthers can win if ...
They score early. The Islanders have no problem gaining leads and sitting back in a neutral-zone trap to suffocate their opponent. With a league-best .963 winning percentage when leading after two periods, it will be paramount for the Panthers to implement their style and dictate the tempo of each contest early on.
Islanders can win if ...
Their numbing forecheck disarms the Panthers' potent offense. New York led the NHL this season in hits per 60 minutes (27.71) and Florida ranked fifth in turnovers per 60 (11.11). The Panthers rely on speed and skill through the neutral zone, and the Islanders will do all they can to keep their opponents in their own end while grinding down their defense.
X-Factors
Anders Lee
Mike Stobe / National Hockey League / Getty
The Islanders' captain has been the club's most consistent scoring threat over the last several seasons and will hope to rebound after regressing slightly in 2019-20. Lee hit the 20-goal mark for the fourth straight campaign and embodied the club's gritty style of play with 102 hits and 50 blocked shots this season.
It's not only the frequency of Lee's scoring but the timing of it that makes him such an important player. The 30-year-old owns a team-best 28 game-winning goals, including six this season. At 6-foot-3, Lee also has the ability to cause chaos in front of the Panthers' goal, and his 31 deflected shots ranked second in the league this season.
Sergei Bobrovsky
Norm Hall / National Hockey League / Getty
The Panthers will hope Bobrovsky has saved his best for this final stretch. The Russian netminder has had a debut season to forget, and his play against New York will go a long way in deciding the outcome of the series.
If Bobrovsky isn't sharp, Florida's offense may not be able to bail him out against the defensively sound Islanders. In what could be a low-scoring series, the 6-foot-2 puck-stopper simply can't afford to be outplayed in goal. Bobrovsky was phenomenal for the Columbus Blue Jackets during their stunning first-round sweep over the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019 and will hope to recapture that form.
The NHL revealed a detailed plan on Thursday for the final phase of its return to play, including information about general rules and safety measures, life in the bubble for players and staff, and how broadcasts and game presentations will look.
The league will test every person - players, team staff, event staff, and hotel staff - in the bubble daily and expects to receive results within 24 hours.
A fencing system will run through and enclose the entirety of the bubbles to keep everyone inside. There will be 97 security guards and health ambassadors throughout the secure zones in Toronto and 125 in Edmonton.
The JW Marriott, Sutton Place Hotel, and Delta Hotels will be used in Edmonton. All three are within walking distance to Rogers Place Arena.
Sportsnet's Chris Johnston
In Toronto, players and staff will be housed at Hotel X and the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.
Sportsnet's Chris Johnston
The players will have access to a number of amenities in both cities. Select restaurants will already be in the secure zones, but some pop-ups will also be created with the help of local chefs and restaurants. They will all be open early in the morning until late at night, and a variety of options will be available.
Players and staff will also have access to a concierge system that will work with outside delivery companies to provide those in the bubble with food, pharmaceutical needs, and other goods.
There will be space for indoor and outdoor activities, include ping pong, movie theaters, tennis, basketball, and pickleball. Each city will have at least 15 workout facilities and outdoor areas for people to train. Players in Toronto will also have access to BMO Field.
Each arena will have dedicated lounges where players can stay after games to watch other contests. Hotels are also fitted with pools and patios, which players will have access to.
The league will use video, audio, and lighting to its advantage to ensure that each game looks different from the previous one. There will be LED screens, monitors, and stages around the ice to create a unique look for television audiences.
Regular NHL broadcasts utilize 20 cameras per game, whereas broadcasts for the upcoming playoffs will use 32. Teams will have their personal goal songs, goal horns, in-arena music compilations, and videos.
The league also partnered with EA Sports to use its library of in-game sounds for crowd noise. It also received videos from fans of all 24 teams that will replicate team-specific chants.
The qualifying round of the 24-team tournament is set to kick off on Aug. 1. Teams are expected to arrive in their respective hub cities by July 26.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have been practicing for nearly two weeks now, and head coach John Tortorella doesn't love what he's seen from some of his players.
"My concern is some of the people that we are going to need to make a difference for us to win a series, I don't think they're ready right now," Tortorella said after practice Thursday, according to NHL.com's Craig Merz. "I don't think they're doing the things they need to do right now to get ready for that series. Not a bunch. A few. A couple."
Columbus is gearing up to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in the best-of-five play-in round. The Blue Jackets finished the season with a 33-22-15 record and enter the qualifying round as the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference.
"For the most part, I've liked what I've seen here," Tortorella continued. "It's just the two or three guys that are pretty important people. It's a concern of mine. ... I'm not so sure we get total concentration out of some key people. That's what we're working to try to get."
The Blue Jackets hit the ice Thursday after a day off. Tortorella stopped practice and yelled at the team after 30 seconds of the opening drill, according to Merz.
Tortorella was recently named a finalist for the Jack Adams Trophy, though he's entering unknown territory with the upcoming playoff format after spending nearly five months away from hockey.
"This isn't getting ready for the regular season and then trying to find your game in 15 games during the regular season. This is a sprint. And I think some guys have been dead-on right from the start," Tortorella said. "Other guys, not so much. I think we're in single digits right now as far as getting ready to play. I don't want us to fall into this trap of wading in. We need to be ready to go."
Ouellet says he initially tested negative upon arriving to training camp, but subsequently had a positive result despite not feeling any symptoms.
"I had zero symptoms, there was not one point where I felt sick or anything," Ouellet said, according to Sportsnet.
"I don’t really know if I actually had it or not. But the protocols with the league and the governments are pretty strict and they’re there to keep it safe for everyone. So I had to isolate myself and wait a little bit before I could come back which is what I did. But since that positive test I’ve tested negative every day and felt healthy, zero symptoms."
The 26-year-old joined the Canadiens at training camp for the first time Wednesday.
Bitetto tested positive positive for the virus June 24 and recently completed a 29-day quarantine, according to Sportsnet's Ken Wiebe. The 30-year-old says he feels fortunate that his case wasn't too serious.
"I feel very lucky to have had minor symptoms," Bitetto said, per Wiebe. "I didn't have it bad by any means. There were days I woke up and I was completely fine and I'm like 'I have this virus? How?' It didn't make any sense. It was nothing like I've ever had."
Ouellet and Bitetto join Edmonton Oilers defenseman Caleb Jones and Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews as the only four players to make their positive tests public.
The NHL has seen a decline in COVID-19 cases since Phase 3 began July 13. Two out of 2,618 tests administered to more than 800 NHL players over the first five days of training camp returned positive.
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The Calgary Flames are desperate for a taste of playoff success after last season's disappointing first-round exit, but they face a tough draw against a Winnipeg Jets squad with mounds of playoff experience.
Can Connor Hellebuyck and the Jets go into Alberta and inflict more playoff misery on the Flames?
TEAM
ODDS
Calgary Flames
-115
Winnipeg Jets
-105
The case for Calgary
The Flames struggled to get out of first gear and were unable to build any energy after an early coaching change. Calgary's offense started to come to life before the pause, suggesting interim coach Geoff Ward found the right formula among hisforwards. The Flames averaged 4.06 goals per game over their final 15 regular-season contests and Johnny Gaudreau broke out of his slump with 16 points over that stretch.
Calgary should expose Winnipeg, despite the Flames' offensive woes. The Jets’ run-and-gun style allowed the second-most high-danger scoring chances in the regular season while creating the fourth fewest. Winnipeg was also a miserable 29th in expected goal rates and 22nd in shot differential.
The Jets attempted to rebuild their defense on the fly and it simply hasn't worked. Calgary holds a significant edge on the blue line in this series. Mark Giordano is healthy after missing most of February and Noah Hanifin is making a welcome return to the lineup. That will be a big help for whomever the Flames pick to play goalie. Cam Talbot is enjoying a terrific bounce-back season and he's built a strong case to get the starting nod.
The case for Winnipeg
It's hard not to turn this into a "Connor Hellebuyck for Vezina" segment. The 27-year-old has enjoyed a spectacular season that should see him named top goaltender. Hellebuyck has posted an outrageous 22.37 goals saved above average,and he was second in save percentage among netminders who started at least half their team's games. He also faced 509 high-danger shots - by far the most in the NHL. Tuukka Rask, the only full-time starter with a better SV%, saw just 279.
Hellebuyck managed his strong stats behind a defense that was a mess for most of the year. Winnipeg had the fifth-most expected goals against this season but allowed the 12th fewest thanks to the netminder.
Hellebuyck should get more help from a defensive group that improved toward the end of the season. Deadline acquisition Dylan DeMelo has given a big push, while a healthy Sami Niku and Luca Sbisa should bolster the back end's strength. Winnipeg's forward group is loaded with high-end talent and shouldn't have any trouble providing goal support.
The pick
Winnipeg Jets (-105)
There was so little separating these teams in the regular season - just a .001 points percentage difference in favor of Calgary - and both Canadian clubs will be feeling the pressure to live up to expectations. Neither was particularly impressive in any offensive or defensive categories, but it's hard to back the Flames as the favorite with a significant disadvantage in goal. In a battle between a pair of evenly matched teams, go with the likely Vezina winner and a plethora of game-breaking talent up front.
Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.
"Seattle's a city with a deep maritime history," general manager Ron Francis said, per NHL.com's Nicholas Cotsonika. "I think this name embodies a connection with the sea and a curiosity of what lies beneath it. It's a natural tie to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.
"In theory, it reflects the power and aggression in the game of hockey. We're hoping that's the kind of tenacity our players show every time they take the ice. So I'm excited by it."
Here's a look at the Kraken's inaugural uniform set, which features a unique double-blue theme with subtle hints of red to match the eye of the monster in the logo.
