The Islanders dispatched the Penguins in Game 6 on Wednesday to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Bruce Cassidy was watching.
“You’re looking at systems, adjustments,” the Bruins coach said. “Who are the coaches putting out on the ice in certain situations — starting games, after a goal? Are they double-shifting a line that’s going well? Are they sitting some players? That’s how you look at it: the big picture. Is it physical? Are they finishing checks on a regular basis? Are they trying to play with pace? There’s little things you’re looking for through the ebb and flow of the game while you’re watching the game live.”
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Earlier on Wednesday, assistant coaches Kevin Dean, Jay Pandolfo and Joe Sacco, along with goalie coach Bob Essensa, huddled over their laptops to study clips compiled by video coordinator Mat Myers and assistant video coordinator Sean Andrake. The coaches reviewed their respective specialities — defense, power play and five-on-five offense, penalty kill, goaltending — from the eight regular-season meetings between the Bruins and Islanders. The Bruins were 3-3-2 against their Long Island adversaries.
On Thursday, the staff assembled to go over all their intelligence and prepare their game plan for Round 2 of the postseason. The players got their first peek at Islanders clips before their 11 a.m. practice at Warrior Ice Arena. In some ways, they were watching themselves.
“They’re a patient team,” Cassidy said. “They defend well. We saw it in the first series. Two good goaltenders. They had to go to their Plan B and he won them all four games. It doesn’t matter who they put in there. They’re going to get good goaltending. I think they have a lot of our attributes. They want to be structured. They want to play with discipline. They have good goaltending. Their D, they certainly want to get involved, but they want to play D first. They’ve got different lines that can hurt you. In that regard, we’re playing ourselves, a little bit.”
Ilya Sorokin was masterful in Round 1. Semyon Varlamov’s backup posted a .943 save percentage, just a shade higher than Tuukka Rask (.941). He was square to pucks, fast on east-west sequences, electric with his pads.
The Bruins had two regular-season looks at Sorokin. They got two pucks past the 25-year-old and added an empty-netter on April 16 in a 3-0 win. Sorokin relieved an injured Varlamov in the third period on May 10. Taylor Hall beat Sorokin in overtime to give the Bruins a 3-2 victory.
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The Islanders were thorough in front of Sorokin in their closeout game. They played typical Barry Trotz hockey: airtight in their defensive zone, structured with a high forward in the offensive zone, stifling in center ice. The worker bees stuck with their hive mind.
‘When we go off individually, we’re not that good,” the Islanders coach said. “But when everybody stays on task, a lot can get accomplished with a group. I’ve said it to probably every team I’ve had: ‘You want to go somewhere fast, go by yourself. You want to go somewhere far, go with a group.’”
The Islanders will be a handful. But they have areas to pressure. Here are six:
1. Defensive mobility
Nick Leddy is an experienced puck-rusher. Noah Dobson, their power-play quarterback, walks the blue line well. But overall, the six-pack relies on positioning, strength, support from their collapsing forwards and good sticks. Foot speed is not their priority.
“Put some pressure on their D. There’s no doubt,” Cassidy said of his preference. “I thought earlier in the year, the games got away from us as much as what we did as what they did. The later games here at home, I thought we managed pucks better. We didn’t try to force the issue in games that were tight.”
2. An aggressive fourth line
It is more fun to eat rocks than absorb punishment from Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck. All three arrive with ferocity. The unit is critical to establishing a forecheck, causing turnovers and giving the Islanders momentum.
They cannot hit, however, if the puck is gone.
Mike Reilly played in the last three regular-season games against the Islanders. It may not have been a coincidence that the Bruins won all three with help from Reilly’s puck-moving touch. Reilly assisted on one of the Bruins’ three goals against Sorokin by advancing deep into the corner and setting up David Pastrnak.
“One pass can beat one or two guys,” Reilly said. “That’ll be for sure the goal with those other lines too. Play quick. If you’re doing that, moving the puck quick, they’re not going to be able to be faster than the puck. A lot of the defensem*n do a good job with that — make a good first pass, try to beat a guy, suck a guy in, jump in a hole and maybe be a late attacker. If we can just try to do that and keep the puck going, I think we can be successful. Those guys are as physical as any line in the league.”
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3. Sorokin is inexperienced
The 2014 third-round pick has just four playoff appearances. Games 1 and 2 will be at a nearly capacity TD Garden. There is no telling how a rookie goalie will perform before an almost-full hostile crowd for the first time in his NHL career.
4.An incomplete No. 1 line
Leo Komarov is a pain in the neck. He has a postseason history, while with Toronto, of getting Brad Marchand to cross the line.
But Komarov (one goal and seven assists in 33 regular-season games) plays at a different gear than linemates Mathew Barzal (17 goals and 28 assists in 55 games) and Jordan Eberle (16 goals and 17 assists in 55 games). If Cassidy uses Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie McAvoy at home against the first line, they will not have to worry as much about silencing Komarov. Their priority will be reducing Barzal’s time and space to freelance with the puck and closing on Eberle’s rapid release.
5. A conservative penalty kill
Washington was aggressive in Round 1. At times, the Bruins had trouble gaining entries and clicking into their preferred sets. The Islanders pack the house more and cede the outer limits of the offensive zone.
This makes it difficult to get shots through and complete seam passes. Bergeron will not have much room in the bumper. But McAvoy, Pastrnak and David Krejci should have more opportunities to handle pucks at the points and outwait the Islanders.
6. Barzal can get frustrated
The right-shot center is dazzling with the puck in open ice. But he can go quiet when opponents limit his touches. Like all dynamo centers, Barzal is least effective when he’s chasing pucks instead of controlling them. If the Bruins use Grzelcyk and McAvoy along with the No. 1 line against Barzal, chances are they’ll be possessing the puck.
(Photo: Fred Kfoury III / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Fluto Shinzawa is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Boston Bruins. He has covered the team since 2006, formerly as a staff writer for The Boston Globe. Follow Fluto on Twitter @flutoshinzawa
