After the completion of the Capitals-Bruins Stanley Cup Qualifiers Round Robin game, it is confirmed that the New York Islanders will face the Washington Capitals in the first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Washington will come into the series as the third seed, while the Islanders will enter the matchup as the sixth seed. Although the Islanders were originally slated to be the seventh seed, the team moved to sixth by virtue of the Pittsburgh Penguins being knocked out to the Montreal Canadiens. The losing Bruins will be the four seed and will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round.

The matchups for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are shown below:
#1 Philadelphia Flyers vs. #8 Montreal Canadiens
#2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. #7 Columbus Blue Jackets OR Toronto Maple Leafs
#3 Washington Capitals vs. #6 New York Islanders
#4 Boston Bruins vs. #5 Carolina Hurricanes

Heading into the series, Washington is coming off an okay round-robin, putting up three of six possible points in three games. In Game 1, Richard Panik and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored in the middle period to help Washington tie the Lightning, but the team couldn’t get the job done in the shootout. In Game 2, the Caps had no answers for Brian Elliot and the Flyers, only putting up 17 shots and one goal. Scott Laughton ran the show with three points as Philadelphia earned a 3-1 victory. However, the team was able to salvage a victory in their final matchup on Sunday against the Boston Bruins. Tom Wilson and T.J. Oshie each put up goals and Brayden Holtby put up 30 saves in a 2-1 victory.

Meanwhile, the Islanders are coming in off a strong showing in their qualifying matchup. The team defeated the Florida Panthers in four games and advanced to the playoffs for the second year in a row. The team saw goals from Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anthony Beauvillier in the first two periods, and that was enough for a 2-1 first game victory. In Game 2, the team rallied from a pair of one-goal deficits to take game two 4-2, and Jordan Eberle scored two goals in the effort. The Islanders kept it close in Game 3, but two goals by Mike Hoffman and Brian Boyle in the third helped the Panthers pull away to a 3-2 victory to keep Florida alive. However, the Islanders were able to regroup and finish it in Game 4 by a 5-1 count, headlined with another two goals by Beauvillier.

In the regular season, the Capitals met with the Islanders for all four of their scheduled matchups. The Capitals came out on top on Opening Night by a 2-1 final on Ilya Samsonov’s first NHL win. However, the Islanders countered on New Year’s Eve with a 4-3 victory in the nation’s capital. Casey Cizikas put up a pair of goals and Tom Kuhnhackl scored the winner for New York, but Kuznetsov struck for two in the game.

In their third matchup, it seemed like the Islanders had a victory in their grasp. After four straight goals and a 4-1 lead heading into the third period, the Islanders imploded in the regulation time period, losing 6-4 in heartbreaking fashion. Alex Ovechkin put up a hat trick in that game, even passing Mario Lemieux for goals all-time, and Devon Toews put up three points for the Islanders. However, in the finale of the season series, the Islanders avenged the collapse. Anthony Beauvillier put up a pair of first period goals and Josh Bailey put up three assists, and that start would help the Islanders to a 5-3 win. Jordan Eberle scored the winner in the GWG in the second, but Nicklas Backstrom put up two assists in the losing effort.

This matchup will have several interesting storylines heading into game one. Although the teams met in the postseason six times before, this will be a rematch of their most recent meeting in 2015. The Capitals forced the Islanders to close the doors on Nassau Coliseum, at least for the time being, and the Islanders will look to serve some revenge to Washington. With the former Capitals head coach in Barry Trotz now on the Islanders’ side, the team will look to back its coach against his old club.

Matthew Page

I am a first year student at Hofstra University and an avid Islanders fan. I have been writing for Drive4Five since March 2020. My family has been season ticket holders for the team since 2016, and hockey is my favorite sport. As I expand my knowledge in the field of Journalism, I am writing to express my love for the Islanders and the NHL.