PITTSBURGH — This is the matchup no one wanted, the mighty Penguins, a team so deep their record shows no indications of the large swaths of time their star players missed because of injury.
Nevertheless, this is the welcome back the Islanders franchise gets upon its first trip to the postseason since 2007. After staring adversity in the face in the earlier part of this lockout-shortened year, the young Islanders responded with a flurry of wins, going 11-2-4 over their final 17 games.
However, that included a season-closing run of 0-1-2, not exactly a confidence boost going into nearly every player's first taste of playoff hockey.
Even if they can wipe the slate clean and start that proverbial new season, the Islanders are going to have to accomplish the extraordinary to win their first playoff series since 1993 — which also came over the Penguins.
ISLANDERS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Goaltending
Evgeni Nabokov: Having a career resurgence at the age of 37, Nabokov looks as good now as he did when he was a Vezina finalist for the Sharks in 2008. He has the most playoff experience of anyone on the team, totaling 80 games with two trips to the Western Conference finals. He finished his 41 regular season games with 23 wins, tied for second in the league, and has been the team's much needed backbone in nets.
Marc-Andre Fleury: At the beginning of this season, pundits were convinced Fleury was still reeling from his stinker of a performance in last year's first-round exit against the Flyers. Yet he battled back, and finished tied with Nabokov with 23 wins while looking more like the man who was terrific in winning the 2009 Stanley Cup for the Pens. Where he is mentally, and if he can be thrown off his game again, is to be determined.
Defense
The Islanders defensive corps is led by the shutdown duo of Travis Hamonic and Andrew MacDonald, but there isn't much behind them. Although there is some offensive firepower back there, it will be tough trying to match the numerous threats the Penguins send over the boards throughout the game.
Even if Brooks Orpik can't suit up on the Penguins back line right away, their crew is deep enough to sustain. Led by Paul Martin and Kris Letang, both recently coming back from injury, the defense mixes both skill and grit for a combination tough to beat.
Forwards
For the first time in a long time, the Islanders finally have gotten some secondary scoring. The line of Josh Bailey-Frans Nielsen-Kyle Okposo has probably been the team's best coming down the stretch, and its ability to back up the top line centered by superstar John Tavares makes it all the tougher for teams to defend. The bottom two lines are mostly checking and grit, but at least some production will be needed from them to achieve offensive balance.
The Penguins have the deepest collection of forwards in the league, regardless if Sidney Crosby (broken jaw) is ready to play or not. At the trade deadline they added Jarome Iginla and Jussi Jokinen for skill, and veteran Brenden Morrow for toughness. Add them to Evgeni Malkin, James Neal and Chris Kunitz, and Crosby might not even be needed.
Special teams
The Islanders' power play has drastically improved with the influx of Lubomir Visnovsky at one of the points, but struggled to finish the season with an 0-for-12 stretch. Their penalty kill has been inconsistent, but with Michael Grabner out there, they always have a threat for a shorthanded goal.
Like most statistical categories, the Penguins are outstanding on the power play, finishing second in the league with a 24.7-percent success rate. Their penalty kill is a weakness — gasp! — ranking 25th, meaning the Islanders will have to take advantage of any power play chances they get.
Coaching
Jack Capuano has settled into his role as coach of this Islanders team, and has instilled in them the understanding of how to win by playing one shift at a time. Yet he can't match the experience, in the NHL as a whole and in the cauldron of the playoffs, of Pittsburgh's Dan Bylsma.
Outlook
It doesn't look too good for the Islanders, but they also started this season not looking like playoff contenders. They might open some skeptics' eyes by picking off a game or two, but to climb over this Penguins juggernaut would be a monumental feat.
Penguins in 6.
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