Following the completion of round one of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the New York Islanders will face the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round of the postseason in Toronto. The Islanders will be the four seed in the East while the Flyers will maintain their number one seed from round robin play.

As the teams enter the round, they are very similar on the ice. Both teams boast very well rounded, well coached teams that can get production from anyone. The offense for both sides isn’t elite but each one gets the job done, the defense is stingy, and the goaltending has been rock solid for each side. How do these two teams stack up entering the matchup?

How They Got Here:

The Islanders are coming in off a victory over the Washington Capitals in five games. The team knocked off Washington in game one after falling into penalty trouble early. After being down 2-0 late in the second, New York rallied for four straight in a 4-2, including a Josh Bailey shorthanded goal as the game winner. In game two, Washington scored first once again, but the Islanders rallied for two goals in the second. Although the team relinquished the lead to another Alex Ovechkin goal, Brock Nelson gave the Islanders the lead for good seconds later on a breakaway. The team would settle in for the 5-2 victory. In game three, the Islanders got off to a better start, scoring first on an Anders Lee goal. The Caps would tie it in the middle frame, but the Islanders would edge it out in overtime on a Mat Barzal OT goal. Although the Islanders would be pushed around in game four, the team would bear down and blank the Capitals 4-0 in the fifth and final game of the series.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia comes into the second round off a six game series win against the Montreal Canadiens. After Jakub Voracek scored first in game one, Shea Weber tied the game at 14:38 of the second. However, Joel Farabee scored just six seconds later, and the Flyers would shut down Montreal for the rest of a 2-1 win. After the Flyers were dominated in game two by a score of 5-0, Carter Hart settled in and helped Philadelphia to win the next two by 1-0 and 2-0 shutout victories. The Flyers’ defense was also effective in those games, limiting Montreal to 23 and 29 shots respectively. Although Montreal won a back and forth elimination game five by a 5-3 score, Philadelphia got the job done in six with a 3-2 victory.

Postseason History:

This series will be the Islanders’ fifth meeting in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with Philadelphia, but it’s the first time this matchup has occurred since 1987. The Flyers have won three of the four meetings, all of them happening in the second round or later. They topped the Islanders in the 1975 Campbell Conference semi-final in seven games, in 1984 in the Patrick Division Final in five, and in 1987 in the Patrick Division Final in seven. However, the one series win for the Islanders came on the biggest stage: The Stanley Cup Final. The team won its first of four straight Stanley Cups in franchise history in six games in 1980 against Philadelphia.

Regular Season Series:

In the regular season, the teams only met three times before the season shut down. The first matchup came in October at Nassau Coliseum. Although Philadelphia struck first on a Voracek goal, three straight tallies by Lee, Derrick Brassard, and Ross Johnston helped the Islanders get a 3-2 lead after one. Two more goals from Ryan Pulock and Barzal in the second helped the Islanders to a 5-3 victory, their seventh straight at the time.

The second matchup in November at the Wells Fargo Center displayed the Islanders’ resolve. The Flyers got the first three goals of the game in the first two periods from Sean Couturier, Ivan Provorov, and Oskar Lindblom. Heading into the third down by three, the Islanders stuck to their game and were able to get themselves out of the hole. Bookend goals by Anthony Beauvillier and a Barzal tally in the middle helped the Islanders to force overtime, and Jordan Eberle scored the winner in the 4-3 shootout win.

The last game in the season series was nearly a reverse of the middle game. It was the Islanders getting off to the hot start this time with three tallies by Bailey, Matt Martin, and Eberle. It seemed like the Islanders would have their way all night long. However, the Flyers began to chip away at the deficit in the second with goals by Travis Konecny and Robert Hagg. The team kept pushing and got the tying goal off the stick of Couturier just outside the final 90 seconds of regulation. With overtime on the horizon in the final minute, Pulock let a slap shot go through traffic that beat Brian Elliot upstairs. After that and an empty net goal by Leo Komarov, the Islanders stole the three point game from Philadelphia in a 5-3 regulation win.

Key Names:

The main story for each of these teams has been its goaltenders. Carter Hart has been rock solid for Philadelphia in goal starting all but one game so far in the bubble. In those games, the 22 year old has posted a 6-2 record with a 1.71 goals against average and .943 save percentage. Meanwhile, Semyon Varlamov has been on top of his game as well. In the nine games he’s started so far, he has a 7-2 record with a 1.67 GAA and .934 save percentage. He’s had a lot to prove in these playoffs, and he has done that so far, winning his first playoff series since 2009.

For the Islanders, their second line has continued to do the job on offense. Beauvillier has played some of the best hockey of his career this summer, putting up three goals and four points against Washington. The other two pieces to that line in Nelson and Bailey have also contributed as well. The former scored four points against Washington, including the aforementioned goal in game two, and Bailey put up six points in round one, including a three point effort in game five.

Although the Flyers hasn’t scored as many goals as the Islanders have, they still have names contributing. For one, Voracek has been on a four game point streak with six points (3G, 3A) in that span. Kevin Hayes has also been playing very strong hockey so far, putting up seven points in the postseason thus far, including a goal in the series clinching game vs. the Canadiens. Even if they haven’t had a true marquee scorer yet these playoffs, the team still has contributions from most players in the lineup since the playoffs began. A balanced offensive attack is a good thing for the Flyers, and the Islanders should choose their matchups carefully before the series begins.

With the two teams very evenly matched in terms of talent and structure, the series will be very interesting to watch. Game one of the series will take place on Monday at 7 PM.

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.