RD 1: Eastern Conference: #3 Washington Capitals vs. #6 NY Islanders

[pilldoc]

I will post game and TV schedule when it becomes available.

 

 

This will be the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams with New York winning five of the seven previous series. They last met in the 2015 Eastern Conference First Round, which Washington won in seven games. These teams split the four games in this year's regular season series.

Edited August 21, 2020 by pilldoc

[yave1964]

The Isles did a number on the soft Panthers, the Capitals have skill and ruggedness. The Isles will make it a series but Caps in seven.

[mojo1917]

I think this series could be entertaining, the Isles play hard and have a couple of good players, the Caps play hard and have more good players.

Does Varlomov step up to defeat his old team? Or does the guy that made him expendable show why?

I think the Caps win this series, I think this series will get physically ugly by game 5. 

Caps in 7 but the Islanders will take a toll on them. 

[pilldoc]

The Caps still have players and if Holtby forgets about the regular season where he struggled at times, this team is still hard to play against.  This will be a VERY physical series.  This is going 6 or 7.

 

I'll take CAPS in 6 simply because I flipped a coin for 6 or 7 games .......

[Math]

Goalies: 

Defense: 

Offense: 

Special teams (PP/PK): 

Coaching: 

Mental: 

Experience: 

Robustness: 

Depth: 

[FD19372]

Islanders in 6. Their team defense is better, Trotz will have them prepared, and I think their special teams will be the difference.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

The battle for the Trotz Cup is on.... and the Isles have been playing the Caps tough, but Washington's skill has seen them through.
2-0 score as the 2nd period nears its end.

Jordan Eberle, however, gives NY some life with a late goal.
Down 2-1 looks much better for the Islanders than being down 2-0.

Shame for NY if all their grittiness is going to waste as Washington seemed to be inching away from them on the scoreboard.

[Alexandron]

Probably, it is going to be the last game for the Capitals these playoffs as well as season.Last year Islanders put all energy to win in 4 games 1st round series against Pittsburgh (4:0) , but lost to Carolina also in 4 games next round (0:4). It seems same scenario so far.

[Math]

Devante Smith-Pelly.

 

The Caps didn't bring him back in the roster, that's the only reason why they are about to be swept. The one and unique reason.

[FD19372]

26 minutes ago, Villette/Lavaux said:

Devante Smith-Pelly.

 

The Caps didn't bring him back in the roster, that's the only reason why they are about to be swept. The one and unique reason.

They're playing the 2nd period like they want to stay in the bubble a while longer. 

[Alexandron]

On 8/18/2020 at 8:38 PM, FD19372 said:

They're playing the 2nd period like they want to stay in the bubble a while longer. 

Probably, they read my message.

[mojo1917]

The Islanders just smoked this Caps team.

 

There was no room in the middle of the ice in the Isles D-zone.

They play with quick smart sticks, they are physical they play with speed.

Trotz has them playing really well, I think Beauveillier is a real player, Barzal can be electrifying. They aren't as "stand out" with their defenseman but they all back check and sell out. They were a lot more fun to watch in the second round than that dreadful series vs the 

cats.

I really thought the Caps stars would be the difference, but they weren't playing like a championship team and I put that on the coach.

This wasn't a fluke it was a whoopin. Whoever plays the Islander next will be lucky to get past them. They are for real...I hate typing this.

 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

14 minutes ago, mojo1917 said:

The Islanders just smoked this Caps team.

 

There was no room in the middle of the ice in the Isles D-zone.

They play with quick smart sticks, they are physical they play with speed.

Trotz has them playing really well, I think Beauveillier is a real player, Barzal can be electrifying. They aren't as "stand out" with their defenseman but they all back check and sell out. They were a lot more fun to watch in the second round than that dreadful series vs the 

cats.

I really thought the Caps stars would be the difference, but they weren't playing like a championship team and I put that on the coach.

This wasn't a fluke it was a whoopin. Whoever plays the Islander next will be lucky to get past them. They are for real...I hate typing this.

 

 

Good post.

Also, it wouldn't surprise me if Barry Trotz, who knows the Capitals core players pretty well, imparted some tips on his players on what buttons to push on them while out on the ice.

It's the sort of thing that won't ever show up on any stat sheet, but I gotta believe that a coach, whose job was to motivate a team (to a Cup win no less), then leaves and coaches AGAINST that team, with much of the same personnel on it, would have an advantage that he could allow his current team to use.

I called this series the Trotz Cup Series and Barry and his boys won it....