It appears as if the National Hockey League is finally coming back! This is news a lot of fans across North America wanted to hear, as a decisive vote from the NHLPA in favor of the NHL Playoffs returning in a 24-team bracket format took place late last week. There are still a lot of things to be done before hockey makes an official return, such as determining hub cities, taking precautionary measures and finding places for players to stay. However, hockey does appear to be coming back and the Islanders made the cut.

The Islanders were not playing convincing hockey before the hiatus occurred. They had lost seven consecutive games, even with the recent acquisition of Jean-Gabriel Pageau. The goaltending was inconsistent, offense struggled, injuries took over and the Islanders had slid out of a playoff spot. It did not look like things were headed in the right direction. However, that can change after this hiatus. Whenever hockey returns, the Islanders should be able to succeed in this peculiar situation. Here are five reasons why.
1. It’s like a new season

There hasn’t been a game played in the National Hockey League in over two months. If these proposed playoffs were to start in late July, then that would be about four months without a single game. That is approximately the length of the offseason. With that being said, it is almost like every team is starting from scratch.

Take a team like the Philadelphia Flyers, who looked like the hottest team in the league headed into this hiatus. Carter Hart was playing sensational, the offense had chemistry and the defensive system clicked. They had all the momentum in their favor and were close to overtaking the Washington Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division. However, with a break this lengthy, that momentum is gone and it can hurt the Flyers badly.

On the other side of the equation, the Islanders looked terrible before the break. Whether it was weak goaltending, controversial high-sticking calls, bad penalties, injuries, or lack of offense, the Islanders seemed like they couldn’t win if their lives depended on it. This negative momentum is also erased, and this gives them the much-needed time to regroup.

With every team almost starting over, anything can happen. The Buffalo Sabres are one of the best teams in the league in the first two months most seasons, despite falling after that. This proves that anyone can win.
2. Potential Early Training

On Sunday, New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced that all professional teams are permitted to return to their practice facilities and begin training camp. This gives the Islanders and the Rangers a tremendous advantage.

However, there is still a decent chance that the NHL will not allow the Islanders to have training camp as it would be an unfair advantage to all of the other teams in the league. Even if this happens, the Islanders are in decent shape. In a recent interview with TSN, Barry Trotz revealed that he has been “working on hockey” daily as he has been communicating weekly with players, coaches, and managers.

He mentioned he has made sure the players are eating healthy and reviewing strategies. While the physical training would of course be worse if the NHL didn’t allow for the Islanders to have extra training camp, they would still be in good shape with the people in charge. Everyone from players to coaches have had faith that hockey would make a return and have prepared accordingly.
3. The Defensive System

The Islanders are all about defense. Now is a better time than ever to implement Barry Trotz’s disciplined defensive system. Like mentioned earlier, teams won’t be nearly as prepared as normal. This also refers to offense. Offenses around the league that have been playing together for six months, then experienced a long, unexpected break. This can wreck offensive chemistry and momentum.

The Islanders should and need to take full advantage of that factor. The Islanders are a tough defensive team to begin with, and will most likely never have the opportunity to play underprepared offenses in the playoffs ever again.

While this can also apply to the Islanders offense, the Islanders strong suit was their defense to begin with. While the league is becoming more fast-paced and skill based, this is an excellent chance to play lockdown defense and get a lot of success from it, especially against top offensive teams like Florida and Tampa Bay who may be discombobulated.

4. Experience

In this tournament, there is a good chance that the teams that will do the best will be the experienced ones. Teams that have been through all kinds of situations, including winning, losing, injuries, fatigue, etc. will probably adjust more easily to these drastic changes than teams with primarily young players who are just getting a feel for the league and especially playoff-level hockey in a much different atmosphere.

Thankfully, the Islanders have a nice mix of experienced veterans to lead the way like Leo Komarov, Johnny Boychuk, Semyon Varlamov, Nick Leddy and flashy young players like Mat Barzal, Devon Toews and Ryan Pulock to bring a lot of the skill and energy to the table.

However, teams that haven’t been around the playoffs recently or have mainly young players would struggle in the playoffs at first even without these circumstances. Add these crazy obstacles, like no fans, staying in one city for two months, and many more and these teams might not succeed. While anything is possible, the experienced teams will most likely flourish. This can make teams like the Islanders, Penguins and even the Blackhawks dangerous.

5. Players Returning from Injury

The Islanders had not many, but a few crucial injuries heading into this hiatus. Adam Pelech, arguably the best defensive defenseman on the team is ready to go for training camp according to Lou Lameriello. The Islanders were a convincing 25-10-2 with Pelech in the lineup, and 10-13-7 without. The defense is much more stable with him. Nonetheless, some of his best performances came against the Florida Panthers.
Casey Cizikas, arguably the most complete player on the team, will make a return in this year’s playoffs. Cizikas does it all. He can score some, kill penalties, play physical, show leadership, create plays, and bring all kinds of energy to the table. His loss was felt as the Islanders went a treacherous 2-7-2 without Cizikas, including going 0-5-2 in their last seven.

Boychuk, who had underwent a scary freak injury with a skate blade to the eye, is set to return for the playoffs. While he is getting older, he is still a good defensive defenseman and the veteran leader of the defense. For example, him coaching Noah Dobson on the bench shows veteran leadership and just how important Boychuk is to the Islanders defense. He is almost like the glue that holds it all together.

With these players returning, this is what a potential Islanders playoff lineup can look like. And given the advantages discussed, it is not too bad at all.

Eberle-Barzal-Lee
Beauvillier-Nelson-Brassard
Dal Colle/Ladd/Komarov- Pageau- Bailey
Martin/Johnston-Cizikas-Clutterbuck
Pelech-Pulock
Toews-Mayfield
Leddy-Boychuk
Varlamov/Greiss

John Smark