Stanley Cup Playoff Preview - Washington vs. NY Islanders

Apr 14, 2015 - 6:23 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Heading into the 2014-15 campaign, many folks wondered how Capitals star Alex Ovechkin and new head coach Barry Trotz would mesh.

So far the coaching switch has worked out just fine. Washington returned to the playoffs after a one-year absence and Trotz's defense-first style didn't hinder Ovechkin's offensive mojo, as the Russian sniper led the league in goals for the fifth time in his career.

Trotz, the former longtime Nashville Predators coach, did what he was brought in to do -- make the Capitals a better defensive team. The club went from 21st in the league in goals allowed per game (2.79) in 2013-14 to the seventh-best defensive club this season. Washington allowed just 2.43 goals per game in 2014-15 and did so while increasing its offensive output from 2.74 GPG in 2013-14 to 2.89 GPG this season.

Ovechkin remains Washington's top offensive weapon, as he led the team with 81 points on 53 goals and 28 assists. He also cleaned up other areas of his game, going from a dismal minus-35 rating in 2013-14 to a plus-10 in the first season under Trotz.

The next goal for both Ovechkin and Trotz is proving they have what it takes to make a deep playoff run. In his seven trips to the postseason, Ovechkin has never made it past the second round. Trotz, meanwhile, led Nashville to the playoffs seven times and lost five times in the opening round while getting ousted in the second round twice.

Much has been made of Ovi's playoff woes, but his individual postseason statistics -- 61 points (31G, 30A) in 58 games -- are hardly embarrassing. Still, Washington's captain needs to do more than score to help lead the franchise past the second round for the first time since the Caps made it to the Stanley Cup Finals back in 1998.

While Ovechkin handles the bulk of the goal-scoring duties from his left wing role on the top line, centerman Nicklas Backstrom is the club's top playmaker. Backstrom posted 78 points on 18 goals and an NHL-leading 60 assists this season.

Ovechkin may get most of the blame for letting the Caps down come playoff- time, Backstrom is actually the guy who needs to pick up the pace after the regular season. The 27-year-old Swede is nearly a point-per-game player (.991 PPG) during the regular season but has only managed 43 points in 57 playoff games (.754 PPG).

Washington may not have another sniper who is nearly as deadly as Ovechkin, but what the Caps lack in quality scorers they make up for it in quantity. Including Ovi and Backstrom, the club has six players who scored 18 or more goals this season. Troy Brouwer (21), Marcus Johansson (20), Joel Ward (19) and Eric Fehr (19) round out the list.

Another forward to watch is Ovechkin's frequent linemate Evgeny Kuznetsov. The 22-year-old Russian centerman will be making his first foray into the playoffs after posting 37 points (11G, 26A) in 80 games this season. Trotz is expected to use Ovechkin alongside Kuznetsov, but he could move Backstrom into that role if the need arises.

Washington also has a solid array of scoring talent on its back end. John Carlson led the club's defensemen with 12 goals and 43 assists and Mike Green followed with 45 points (10G, 35A). Offseason additions Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik added 31 and 19 points, respectively while Karl Alzner had five goals and 16 helpers.

Thanks to Ovechkin's deadly shot and a handful of able puck movers on the blue line, the Caps ranked first in the NHL with a power-play success rate of 25.3 percent.

Trotz spread out the minutes among his blueliners fairly evenly this season. Carlson led the group with 23 minutes, 4 seconds of ice time on average, while Green was fifth on the list with 19:06. Tim Gleason (15:16) is the least used member of the starting rotation.

The player who likely benefited most from Trotz's arrival was goaltender Braden Holtby, as the 25-year-old experienced a career season between the pipes. Holtby went 41-20-10 with a .923 save percentage and 2.22 goals against average in 73 games this season. He had a 2.85 GAA in a 48-game run during the 2013-14 campaign.

Holtby tied for second in the league with nine shutouts and enters this series with solid career postseason numbers. Holtby boasts a .931 save percentage and 2.04 GAA over 21 playoff games only to see Washington go 10-11 in those contests.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 47-28-7 (3rd place, Metropolitan)

2014 PLAYOFFS: Did not qualify

For the first several months of the season, the Isles were riding high and seemingly on their way to a surprising Metropolitan Division title.

Although they were never in real danger of missing the playoffs, the Islanders allowed the rival New York Rangers to easily outdistance them for the division crown and also opened the door for Washington to get home-ice advantage in this series.

The Isles owned a 39-19-1 mark through 59 games before struggling to an 8-9-6 mark over the final 23 tests. Despite the late-season swoon New York finished with 101 points, marking the first time it eclipsed the century mark since 1983-84.

All things considered, making it this far already counts as a successful season for the Islanders, who have rarely made the playoffs since their dynastic run produced four straight Stanley Cup titles in the early 1980s. New York is now in the playoffs for only the second time in eight seasons, but both of those occurrences have come over the last three springs.

With the franchise playing its final season on Long Island in 2014-15, the Isles have a lot riding on this playoff run. Making the postseason bodes well for the club's move to Brooklyn's Barclays Center this fall, but a deep playoff run could make the transition from Nassau Coliseum go even smoother.

During a time of change for the franchise, the Isles boast a marketable star player in John Tavares, the club's top centerman and 24-year-old captain. The former No. 1 overall pick of the 2009 draft is the type of player who makes everybody around him better. Tavares also seems to raise his own game with each passing season and is coming off his best statistical campaign yet.

Tavares recorded personal bests in both goals (38) and points (86) in 2014-15 and also finished a season with a plus-rating (plus-5) for the first time since breaking into the NHL.

With Tavares leading the way, the Isles finished fourth in the league in scoring with an average of 2.99 goals per game. The club had nine players reach double digits in goals and seven of them notched at least 15 markers.

New York's second-most dependable scorer is American winger Kyle Okposo, who missed a chunk of the season due to injury, but still finished second to Tavares with 51 points (18G, 33A) in 60 games.

While Tavares is obviously leading the charge, the Isles boast a stable of talented young forwards.

Ryan Strome, 21, finished third on the club with 51 points on 17 goals and 33 assists and 24-year-old Anders Lee was second to Tavares with 25 goals. Brock Nelson, 23, added 20 goals and 22 assists while playing in all 82 games. All three players can play on the wing, but Nelson is a natural centerman. Head coach Jack Capuano used Nelson more at the pivot spot down the stretch after trying him early on as a winger on Tavares' line.

The Isles are hoping Mikhail Grabovski can contribute to the offensive mix in the playoffs, but the centerman hasn't played since suffering a concussion in late February. Signed last summer to add depth and a veteran presence to the forward group, getting Grabovski back in time for this series could be a big boost for Capuano's club.

Grabovski recently returned to practice and could be ready to go for Game 1. The Isles lost 15 of 23 games without him in the lineup to close the season.

A few additions in the offseason helped New York get better at stopping the puck even if the club's team defense only managed to go from bad to mediocre. The Isles were 28th in the league with an average of 3.18 goals allowed per game in 2013-14 but this season they improved to 2.73 GPG (23rd in NHL).

General manager Garth Snow believed he gave the Isles a No. 1 goaltender when he signed Jaroslav Halak to a four-year deal last May and the Slovakian veteran has rewarded Snow's faith in him. Halak went 38-17-4 with a 2.43 GAA and .914 save percentage, giving New York a solid, if unspectacular, presence in net.

Perhaps even more important than the Halak signing, however, was a pair of trades Snow pulled off on the eve of the season that wound up vastly improving the club's defensive depth. Nick Leddy was acquired from Chicago on Oct. 4 and in a separate deal on the same day Snow plucked Johnny Boychuk from the Bruins. Both trades were possible due to salary-cap issues in Boston and Chicago and those clubs' losses were clearly the Islanders' gain.

Leddy and Boychuk were New York's most productive defensemen this season with 37 and 35 points, respectively, while finishing second and third behind Travis Hamonic in ice time on the Isles blue line.

The Isles could lean even heavier on Boychuk and Leddy in this series after Hamonic missed the final game of the regular season due to a lower-body injury. It's unclear if Hamonic, who recorded 33 points this season, will be ready to play in Game 1.

Hamonic's health could be a factor in this series considering New York's defensive depth isn't great even when he's in the lineup. Guys like Calvin De Haan, Thomas Hickey, Brian Strait and Lubomir Visnovsky will see their minutes increase if Hamonic is unable to play.

MATCHUP

There's a good chance this Metro battle will be the most tightly contested series of the opening round.

The Caps and Isles each won two games during four meetings in 2014-15 and three of the contests went beyond regulation. In this best-of-seven matchup, the winner is likely to be the team that gets better goaltending.

It also could come down to special teams, where Washington seems to hold a sizeable advantage. The intangible factors do seem to be in the Islanders' favor, as the club tries to put a positive spin on their departure from Long Island.

The two biggest head-to-head matchup will come in the form of Ovechkin vs. Tavares and Holtby vs. Halak.

Ovechkin potted four goals and added an assist in four games against the Isles in 2014-15. Tavares had two goals and five points during the same sample of games.

Washington's No. 1 goaltender was 2-0-2 with a 2.62 GAA in four games versus the Isles this season, while Halak went 2-0 with a 2.35 GAA in two appearances against the Caps.

It's been over two decades since the Caps and Islanders have met in the postseason, with New York taking the last encounter in the 1993 division semifinals. The Isles have won five of their six all-time playoff series against Washington.

Expect this series to produce more than one OT battle and for the Isles to come out on top by the slimmest of margins.

Sports Network predicted outcome: Islanders in 7