You read that header correctly: The Islanders vs. The Hurricanes. The Carolina effing Hurricanes. They knocked out the defending cup champs in double overtime of game 7 to advanced to round 2. The Islanders have been waiting for their opponent for a week now, but here they are.

I said it on What the Puck: the sad truth is that I gave Carolina no chance against Washington. I even guaranteed somebody that this was going to be the only first round sweep this year. When the Caps were up 2-0, I was feeling pretty good about that prediction. Well, I agree with Mr. Cherry that these guys are a buncha jerks for destroying my bracket and coming back to win the series in 7. How did they do it? They stood up to Washington’s grit and matched their speed. By the end of game 7 you could tell that the Caps we’re running out of gas and they were barely holding on to any hope. Ovi was rattled, Oshie got hurt, and Holtby looked shakey. But hey, let’s give make sure we give Carolina credit. They were the ones who made it that way. Unfortunately for Oshie, he was injured on a questionable play and his absence was felt by the Caps. But that’s hockey… The Hurricanes got balanced scoring and good (not great) defense, as well as good (not great) goaltending through 7 games to get them through. SEVEN Hurricanes had 2+ goals in the series, including rookie Svechnikov who only played 2 full games before getting his bell rung by Ovechkin. Credit to him though, the series actually took a turn in favor of Carolina after that fight. Petr Mrazek was good, but he’ll need to be better moving forward. An .899 sv% and a 2.53 probably won’t get the job done against a great defensive NYI team.

The Islanders have been resting for quite some time. I’m sure they were ready for an opponent to prepare for but they had to wait about a week to get it. The Isles looked solid defensively against Pittsburgh in round 1. They weren’t flashy. They weren’t rushing plays. They were poised and patient. It paid off in a big way. 4 straight wins and a sweep to advance. This team looks good. Really good. Any time the Penguins had something to build off of, NYI shut them down quickly. It felt like each time Pitt scored, the Isles got one right back within a minute. It felt like it was Eberle every time, too. Lehner looks incredible. 1.47 GAA and a league-leading .956 sv% in round 1. There were question marks around him going into the playoffs; not anymore. This guy showed what he can do and there’s no reason to think he’ll take a step backwards now.

How do they matchup? According to What the Puck’s and my good friend John Davidson (no not that John Davidson), the Islanders always struggle against Carolina. It’s just one of those teams that they can never get ahold of. I think it’s different now. “PlaYOfFs aRe a dIfFereNT AnIMaL” (I hate using clichés, but I do it all the time): But I really do feel it applies here. This isn’t the same old, poor-defending Islanders. Barry Trotz has the D zone locked down. The Hurricanes are a much better team with Justin Williams wearing the C and with Brind’Amour behind the bench, but I don’t think they’ll be able to break through New York’s stellar defense this ‘yoffs. Islanders in 5.

PS, it kills me picking the Islanders to advance. I died a little on the inside when writing this.

Written by Andrew Silvers

Twitter/Instagram: @asilvers55

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