N.Y. Islanders: Short Circuited by Bolts of Lightning

From the desk of: NO SLEEP TILL BELMONT

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

2019   EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS   2020

Lightning lead Isles; 1-0

I - TBL 8; NYI 2

GAME TWO

Tampa Bay Lightning

vs.

New York Islanders

FROM

Canadian Hockey Bubble

I believe Monday's 8-2 final score is an aberration.

Either the Bolts were super charged up after sitting idle since August 31, or the Islanders were completely lagging coming off a seven game series involving three overtimes that didn't wrap up until Saturday, thus leaving them approximately forty hours to recover, fly from Toronto to Edmonton and prepare for the Lightning. 

Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in between.

I normally lean towards momentum.  Last thing I want is my team sitting around for a week between games.  So entering game one I thought the Islanders would have that on their side.  However, the break clearly worked to Tampa's advantage.  The disparity in speed and energy was palpable.

Allowing 34 shots on goal is slightly above the Isles standard, but it's nothing uncommon.  Allowing eight goals, now we have a problem.  Seven penalties, just twelve blocked shots and eighteen giveaways additionally hint of lethargy.

Think not?

The Islanders commit one of the cardinals sins of hockey: they allow a goal inside the first two minutes of period one.  Brayden Point comes barreling down the left wing, fakes and freezes Ryan Pulock in place, then stick handles a backhand around goalie Thomas Greiss unopposed.  It was only Tampa's second shot on goal.

Within minutes the Islanders get a power play and Jordan Eberle ties the game at one (it ends up being Long Island's only goal in five power play opportunities).  Less than two minutes elapse when Andy Green is whistled and sent to the box.  Tampa then demonstrates to the Islanders just how bad the Flyers power play was.  Coming within seconds of achieving a successful penalty kill, Victor Hedman converts giving the Lightning a 2-1 lead.  It's the first of six Tampa power plays and the first of three conversions.  That's uncharacteristic for the Islanders.  But it's only a prelude of things to come.  At 10:46 still in the first period, the Islanders fail to account for blue liner Ryan McDonagh who gives the Bolts a 3-1 lead.  At this point Thomas Greiss is pulled in favor of Semyon Varlamov.  This is when the Islanders all but confirm they're simply not up to the task.  Tampa goes on to score two times in the second period and three more times in the third. 

Even without an injured Steven Stamkos, Tampa can outscore their mistakes.  They can be thrown off their game yet still score goals.  In game one Brayden Point is the best centerman on the ice with two goals and three assists.  However, the Bolts also have been knocking at the door for years but have yet to bust it open.  There's something to be said for that and I point my finger at coach Jon Cooper.  The Islanders on the other hand are strict adherents of Barry Trotz' system.  When thrown off their game they do not have the individualists that step in to save the day.  They're more akin to a four line glacier, strong and methodical in their approach.  They're also great counter-punchers.  Problem is Tampa in game one floated like butterflies and stung like bees.  On that note, eight goals is all the motivation Long Island needs heading into game two.  The hope is they recover and restore their energy no later than game three.  A two/one series deficit is very manageable when you're playing in a bubble.

HEY COACH, WHO'S THE GOALIE?

Monday's play in front of net was clearly negligent.

But who will Barry Trotz task, who will he trust with starting game two and beyond?

During the regular season Varlamov appears in 45 games; Greiss appears in 35 games.

In his first year with the Islanders, 32-year old Semyon Varlamov owns a career 2.67 GAA and .915SV% over twelve seasons with Washington, Colorado and Long Island.  He has made 39 career playoff starts to date.  So far in these playoffs he is 9-4 with a .913SV% and a 2.22 GAA.  Two years his elder and in his fifth season with the Islanders, Thomas Greiss owns a career .914SV% and 2.63 GAA over ten seasons.  So far through four playoff appearances and three starts Greiss has posted a .929SV% and 2.02 GAA, but it's obviously a small sample size of work.

Varlamov has now yielded 14 goals in only his last 222 minutes between the pipes (i.e., games five and six against Philadelphia and Monday's relief effort against Tampa).  Meanwhile, Greiss has allowed just six total goals spread out over four appearances and 178 minutes on ice.  Thomas Greiss pitches a shutout in game seven over the Flyers albeit facing just sixteen shots, but he at least earns the start in game one against Tampa.  It doesn't go well.  He yields three goals in the game's first ten minutes.

This is Thomas Greiss's second season playing for Barry Trotz; Semyon Varlamov his first.  Varlamov has started all but two of thirteen games since entering the bubble.  Greiss has now made three starts with a relief appearance.  Greiss made just one relief appearance in last year's playoffs.  If you remember Barry Trotz stuck with Robin Lehner through all eight playoff games.

What does that say about Barry Trotz' trust in Greiss?