There are some important takeaways for the New York Islanders two weeks into the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Despite a large gap between postseason teams and non-playoff teams in the Eastern Conference during the regular season, the NHL playoffs are displaying the parity of the Eastern Conference. This is good news for the Islanders.

The Islanders had an extremely disappointing season. The team missed the playoffs for the first time in three seasons, finishing with 84 points. Early season struggles hurt the Islanders, and the team could never recover.

This season, the leading team in the Eastern Conference and the entire NHL was the President Trophy-winning Florida Panthers. The Panthers finished with 122 points and an astonishing +94 goal differential.

As the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Panthers just defeated the Washington Capitals in six games. It was a very close series, even though the Capitals finished with 22 fewer points than the Panthers.

The Carolina Hurricanes, who were the second best team in the Eastern Conference and the leading team in the Metropolitan Division, just defeated the Boston Bruins in seven games. During the regular season, the Hurricanes were the third-best team in hockey, while the Bruins were the 10th-best team in hockey. Nonetheless, their series could have gone either way.

What does this mean for the Islanders?

The fact that the bottom-two seeds in the East held their own in the first round shows that the top teams in the conference are beatable — anyone can beat anyone.

Although the Islanders did miss the playoffs this year, they have shown they can have success in the postseason. With more parity than ever, the Islanders can contend for a Stanley Cup if they give themselves a shot to win it.

Ethan Halle

Ethan is an Economics Major at the University of Florida looking to pursue a double major in Sports Management with a minor in political science.