The New York Islanders came into Game Four ready to take care of business the best way they know how to. Defensively. With Anthony Beauvillier, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Semyon Varlamov leading the way. The Islanders eliminated the Florida Panthers with a 5-1 victory on Friday. Finishing off the series three to one against the Panthers. Now the Islanders will patiently wait to see who they will face off against in the first round of the 2020 Stanley-Cup Playoffs.
Anthony Beauvillier Leads the Way
In only his second postseason appearance ever, Anthony Beauvillier is making the most of this year run at the Stanley Cup. In four games, Beauvillier recorded three goals and two assists for five points. He and his two linemates Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey were able to lead the charge for the Islanders. Combining for 12 points between the three of them, this second-line was able to carry the load for the Islanders. Beauvillier also leads the Islanders in Corsi with a 58.33 Corsi for percentage through those games. Anyone watching from home could see number 18 everywhere on the ice.
This is truly the best way to sum up the series. Beauvillier can be seen during his incredible play against the Panthers in Game Three that leads to a late-tying second-period goal.
🚨 JG Pageau
1-1 pic.twitter.com/ZpLKwovL1b— Here’s Your Replay ⬇️ (@TheReplayGuy) August 5, 2020
A dump-n-chase to himself, Beauvillier was able to distract all three of the Panthers defenders. While the three Florida Panthers are sitting and watching, a constant theme for them. Pageau sneaks behind all of them to beat Bobrovsky on his glove side.
Florida Panthers Fail to Learn from Mistakes
One step forward, two steps back. This is what seemed to be the Panthers game plan coming into this series. The Islanders played their game. They kept everything to the outside, only allowing the Panthers seven goals through the series. Just like in Game Three, the Panthers had no real quality chances while the Islanders had a field day in front of Sergei Bobrovsky. Unable to get any real traffic in front of Varlamov, the high-flying Panthers offence was shut down.
While the Panthers were still unable to produce anything offensively, they sure were able to find the penalty box. Within the four games they played, the Panthers took 46 minutes’ worth of penalties. Leading the Islanders to go roughly 25 percent on the power-play.
With that being said, what stuck out the most was that this Panthers team is definitely not Play-off ready. On paper, they definitely had the skill but they lacked the will and experience needed to take that next step. This was a much-needed experience for the Panthers team considering they had just won their first playoff game in over 1500 days.
Looking Ahead
Moving forward, something needs to change within the Panthers culture as a whole. They have most of the pieces they need to become a consistent playoff team. It just comes down to a matter of putting it all together. With the expansion draft coming up, pending unrestricted free-agents Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov, and now rumours the Panthers are looking to move on from General Manager Dale Tallon. This could be a short but very long offseason for the Panthers and their fans.
Hearing a change is coming with the Florida Panthers. Team moving on from Dale Tallon #flapanthers
— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) August 7, 2020
Now that the Qualifying Round is over for both the Islanders and Panthers, there are plenty of interesting storylines that lie ahead. The Panthers head home to their families and the local golf course. The Islanders, on the other hand, will wait to see who they face-off against next as they get to stay in the bubble in Toronto for a little bit longer. The way they played within their defensive zone, it is going to be hard for any team to score. The round-robin will wrap up on Sunday at a time that is yet to be determined. The Islanders will know who they play at some point this weekend.
Main Photo:
