Barry Trotz won the Stanley Cup two years ago with a star-studded Capitals roster. Now he has sent them home early with a largely unheralded roster depicting the team.
The Islanders, who learned they will play the Flyers in the next round after Philadelphia eliminated the Canadiens on Friday, have certainly made some star-worthy efforts along the way from young strikers Anthony Beauvillier and Mathew Barzal, but they are on the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs because of how they played up and down the lineup as a group.
“I think we did a great job as a team,” defender Adam Pelech said after the Islanders ended the series Thursday night with a 4-0 victory over the Capitals in Game 5. “It takes everyone. It takes the attackers, it takes the defenders and great goalkeeping to limit a team like that is a crime. “
It is the second straight year that despite the Islanders leading to the second round of the playoffs to take over a group that had missed the playoffs in back-to-back years and just lost its biggest star in John Tavares . The last time the Islanders won a playoff series in back-to-back years came in 1984 and 1985 – it marks the end of the franchise’s dynasty.
Last year the playoff run ended when the Islanders were fired by the Hurricanes in the second round. This time – after dealing with the Panthers in the Stanley Cup qualifier and then dismantling the Capitals in the first round – they seem to have a better shot in the second round as they spent Friday night.
“People don’t realize how difficult it is to make the playoffs,” Trotz said. “That first round, to get through, is extremely difficult. We have already done two of them in this new format. It talks a lot about our group. They have good focus, they understand how to play and how intense and how disciplined and how focused and how dedicated you need to be to have any success. They have been able to do that.
“That is good for the management team. It starts at the top with [general manager Lou Lamoriello], right down to our players and our leadership of Anders Lee and [Josh] Bailey en [Johnny] Boychuk and people love that. Then you see the growth of some of our younger players, like a Beauvillier and a Barzal and a man like Brock Nelson, who is not getting enough credit around the league … … It’s a team effort. Then add some pieces like an Andy Greene, [who] has fit really well, and a [Jean-Gabriel] Pageau. It just balances everything out. ”
Despite going four years into the postseason after being with the capitals before finally ending his tenure in Washington with a Stanley Cup in 2018. They did so with big names like Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and TJ Oshie dy the points, John Carlson leads the blue line and Braden Holtby locks it in net.
At least off Long Island, the Islanders may not seem to pack the same punch with Beauvillier, Barzal, Nelson and Bailey delivering the points, Pelech and Ryan Pulock handling defensive pair duties and Semyon Varlamov getting through in the net. But all through the lineup, they have bought into Trotz’s system and may reap the rewards.
“When we step on the ice, everyone knows what they’re doing,” Varlamov said. “We believe in that structure and we believe in our coaching staff.”
With his old team now in the rearview mirror, Trotz is back to chasing the same goal.
“I had invested so much with that group of core players. I can not tell you how much they mean to me, ”he said. “I try to have the same relationships with my group and hopefully we can share something special.”
.
