Capellini: Off Split In Florida, Islanders Ready For Pair Of Brooklyn Brawls

By Jeff Capellini
WFAN.com

The Islanders pretty much deserve to be right where they are.

Facing a bigger and more rugged opponent in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Isles have held their own through two games. They won Thursday's opener, an outcome that for almost two periods looked like a pipe dream, and then dropped Game 2 on Friday, despite playing a better and more responsible brand of hockey.

With the scene shifting to Brooklyn for Games 3 and 4 on Sunday and Wednesday, respectively, this series is shaping up to be every bit worth the price of admission. The Islanders have been the Atlantic Division champion Panthers' equals, but to advance out of the first round for the first time since 1993 they are going to have to find a way to take their game to an even higher level.

And if more than a little nastiness is required along the way, so be it.

The Panthers overwhelmed the Islanders physically early in Game 1, launching themselves like heat-seeking missiles around the BB&T Center ice. Jack Capuano's team struggled to make that first pass out of its own end, resulting in numerous turnovers and, as a result, three one-goal deficits through the first 39-plus minutes.

The fact that the Islanders found a way to pull out the 5-4 victory speaks to their unrelenting resilience.

Throughout the regular season, the Isles were often outplayed but found ways to win. Though they finished with 100 points, the 82-game ordeal felt less rewarding and much more taxing than last season's 101-point effort. Maybe that's because the 2014-15 campaign was a new experience as far as winning goes. More was expected this season and the Isles, for reasons that have been discussed ad nauseam, often looked and performed like an incomplete product.

But one thing that should never be questioned is this team's character. Regardless of their faults, the Islanders have played hard. You can count their no-effort stinkers this season on one hand, and though they sometimes have lacked a killer instinct and the ice has tended to be tilted toward their net, they have more often than not found a way.

Game 1 was a perfect example.

The Isles were badly outshot and out-chanced in the opener, but they took advantage of their  opportunities and received a stellar performance from supposedly inexperienced goaltender Thomas Greiss. The 30-year-old German made 42 saves on Thursday, and couldn't be faulted for any of the goals he allowed.

Despite looking like the roof would cave in on the Islanders during the first 40 minutes, John Tavares, who seems destined to have an epic postseason, provided his team stays around a while, tied the game at 3 with 22 seconds left in the second off a gorgeous cross-crease feed from Kyle Okposo.

Only when the Isles decided to crank up their own forecheck to begin the third period did they take control of the game. Capuano's team took a page out of its opponent's playbook, unleashing bodies in the Florida end. That type of physicality and focus is simply a must at this time of the season.

Granted, the Isles were helped out by Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo, who kicked out juicy rebound after juicy rebound that Tavares and his teammates were more than happy to pounce on. In all, five different Islanders scored in Game 1, a far cry from during the regular season when secondary scoring was a major issue.

What makes playoff hockey unique is how adjustments play such a large role from game to game. The Isles were actually better during Game 2, but so were the Panthers, specifically Luongo. The 37-year-old netminder, who has had a spotty postseason career, was on his game Friday, finishing with 41 saves in Florida's 3-1 victory.

This time it was the Islanders who helped the Panthers out. Despite his gaudy save total, Luongo really wasn't asked to stand on his head. Much of the Isles' offense was of the one-and-done variety. New York didn't start sustaining its pressure in Florida's end until late in the third period, when Tavares notched his second goal -- and fourth point -- of the series by banging home a loose puck that took a friendly carom off the end boards.

The Isles tried desperately to get the equalizer in the waning minutes, but the Panthers clamped down defensively and Luongo made a few key stops.

When two evenly matched teams go at it in the playoffs, things tend to even themselves out as far as momentum and chances go. Despite their series-tying victory, I'd be hesitant to say the Panthers have a decided edge heading into Game 3 on Sunday. If anything, the Isles should be ready to jump out of the building, given the fact that it will be Barclays Center's first playoff game and the fan base's penchant for traditionally being among the loudest and most raucous fans in the sport during the postseason.

But the Islanders can't simply rely on the atmosphere if they plan on seizing control of this series. Their physicality needs to be taken to a higher level and they have to have more drivers and fewer passengers on each shift. Ask anyone who watched Game 2 about Josh Bailey and Nikolay Kulemin, and they'll tell you those two were an unmitigated disaster at both ends of the ice. They lacked chemistry with the puck and were utterly clueless without it.

According to the pundits, the Islanders are not supposed to win this series, but you better believe their fans expect them to find a way. Through two games they've shown that they belong in the playoffs and can hang with a team that is built for a long run.

But this has to be about more than simply belonging and hanging. It has to be about taking that next step, exorcising the demons that have doomed them in the past.

The Islanders cannot lose another long, physically demanding series and feel like they've accomplished anything.

That simply won't fly.

Make no mistake, we're going to learn a hell of a lot about this team over the next two games.

Read more columns by Jeff Capellini and follow him on Twitter at @GreenLanternJet