3 Takeaways: Isles Clinch Playoff Berth with 4-1 Win Over Devils

Playoff bound!

The New York Islanders punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Monday night, securing their spot with a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center.

In addition to clinching a playoff berth, the Islanders are cemented into the third seed in the Metropolitan Division and a First Round rematch with the Carolina Hurricanes. They did it on their own volition, going 7-0-1 in their last eight games to shoot up the standings and while the job isn’t done, Monday was a night to savor for the Isles.

“Ten games ago, no one really gave us a chance to be part of that that playoff picture and now here we are,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “We've secured that third seed and it's nice to see our guys be rewarded for that hard work.”

JG Pageau, Kyle Palmieri (PPG), Brock Nelson and Kyle MacLean scored for the Isles, while Timo Meier scored the lone goal for the Devils. Semyon Varlamov stopped 23 of 24 in the win, while Jake Allen stopped 15 of 19 in the loss.

Monday’s clinch means the Isles are in the playoffs for a second straight season and for the fifth time in the past six years. Monday’s win was also their first in four games against New Jersey this year.

“I'm proud of our group and proud of these guys in this room,” Captain Anders Lee said. “We stuck together, we continued to believe in what we were doing. We continue to believe that we were a good hockey team. We just had to put the pieces together and you've seen that in the last few weeks.”

NewYorkIslanders.com will have plenty of playoff coverage in the days to come. Find out how to secure playoff tickets here. Below are three takeaways from Monday’s win over New Jersey.

ISLES MAKE THEIR SHOTS COUNT

The Islanders’ 19 shots on goal tied the second fewest they taken in a game, but what they lacked in quantity they made up for in quality.

JG Pageau’s goal at the 12:22 mark of the first period was the Islanders first shot of the game. The Islanders second goal – a Kyle Palmieri tip off a Mike Reilly wrister on the Isles’ first power play – came on New York’s fifth shot of the game. In the process Palmieri extended his point streak to six games and has nine points (5G, 4A) over that span.

By contrast, the Devils seemed shot-happy, with 24 on goal in the game. The only one to beat Semyon Varlamov – who was solid again during a 7-1-0 personal run – was a Timo Meier rebound that he chipped in after Jesper Bratt’s initial shot.

Brock Nelson restored the Islanders’ two-goal lead with his 33^rd goal of the season – tying Bo Horvat for the team lead – and extended his point streak to four games (3G, 3A) over that span. Nelson’s goal came on just the Isles’ eighth shot of the game.

Kyle MacLean made it 4-1 on the Islanders 12^th shot of the game, stuffing in an Anders Lee pass after the captain muscled his way to the net. MacLean also hit the post earlier in the game. MacLean grew up going to games at Prudential Center when his father, Isles Assistant Coach John MacLean, played for the Devils, so there was a little extra meaning there.

The Isles have only scored four-or-more goals on fewer shots – and won – 18 times in their 51 year history.

SPECIAL TEAMS COME THROUGH

The Islanders got positive results from bother special teams on Monday night, with the power play going 1-for-1, while the PK went 3-for-3.

The power-play goal comes one game after the Isles went 0-for-5 against the New York Rangers, while giving up a shorthanded goal. Roy said the difference was traffic and pucks to the net, looking for simple plays instead of fancy ones. That was how the goal came together with Mike Reilly - who was filling in for an injured Noah Dobson - sent a wrister that Kyle Palmieri tipped.

As for the PK, it made easy work of a Devils power play that still had plenty of firepower even with Jack Hughes out of the lineup, holding New Jersey to three shots over the three man advantages.

“I liked our forecheck I think we made it a little harder for them to get in the zone,” Cal Clutterbuck said. “They passed a couple pucks out themselves and then when it came down to it, we put a little pressure on when it was time to pressure.”

ENGVALL ENERGIZED

Pierre Engvall continued his stretch of solid play on Monday night, setting up JG Pageau for the Islanders first goal of the game.

Engvall showcased his speed, picking up Anders Lee’s chip out of the zone and rushing up the ice for a two-on-one with Pageau. The Swedish forward finished off the play with a good cross-ice pass to Pageau for the easy tally.

With the assist, Engvall now has four points (2G, 2A) in his last six games, plus a disallowed goal in Saturday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Rangers.

NEXT GAME

The Islanders wrap up the regular season on Wednesday night vs the Pittsburgh Penguins. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.