With win, Isles are Kings of the West
THE ISLANDERS have to win one playoff series before they can win three. And in case the news hasn’t reached Brooklyn yet, they haven’t advanced through even one postseason round since 1993.
Just in case they embark on a surprise run to the Stanley Cup Final this spring, however, the Isles notably have concluded their home slate against Western Conference teams this season without a single regulation loss.
Jack Capuano’s team improved to 12-0-2 at Barclays Center against the West with a quality 5-2 victory over Pacific-leading Los Angeles on Thursday night – while also completing its first three-game winning streak in nearly two months.
“I had no idea about that (stat) until you guys told me. Obviously, there are some good teams out there that have done some good things over the years and you just have to be ready to play them,” John Tavares said. “There’s a lot of hockey left and a lot up for grabs, so we just have to keep focusing on the next one.”
The resurgent captain registered two more points and Thomas Greiss stopped 28 shots for the Isles, who hadn’t won three straight since Dec. 8-13 (the end of an 8-02 stretch).
Still, while the players generally seemed pleased, Capuano mostly praised his goalie for the victory, while questioning his team’s puck management and defensive looseness.
“I actually don’t think it was one of our better efforts,” Capuano said. “We did some good things…but we still have to clean some stuff up.”
Still an ordinary 11-10-1 since mid-December, the Isles began the night in a fiveteam logjam — separated by one point for fifth through ninth place in the East – but they now are three points ahead of the Penguins and the Devils in the Metropolitan Division.
But while the Isles have dominated Western Conference clubs, they’ve defeated only two of the other seven teams currently holding playoff positions in the East: the Rangers twice and Tampa Bay. They otherwise have gone 0-8-1 combined against Washington, Florida, Detroit, Boston and Pittsburgh.
“Every year is different,” Capuano said. “Some years you have success against certain teams, others you struggle. You can’t really pinpoint why.”
The Kings, fresh off a 9-2 pasting of the Bruins on Tuesday night, were without star goalie Jonathan Quick after he was banged up in that game in a collision with Boston winger Jimmy Hayes. After following up an 8-1 rout of Edmonton behind Greiss on Sunday with a shootout win two nights later in Columbus, the Isles reached Kings backup Jhonas Enroth for goals by Johnny Boychuk, Casey Cizikas and Anders Lee by 13:36 of the first period.
Kyle Clifford got L.A. on the board with a rebound stuffer 11:10 into the middle period, but Tavares (5-7-12 last eight games) notched his 20th of the season barely two minutes later. Milan Lucic made it 4-2 with a rebound score midway through the third, but Travis Hamonic added a late shorthanded empty-netter.