The Islanders squeaked their way out of the first round against the Florida Panthers due to the late game heroics from Islander captain John Tavares. Tavares  scored the game tying goal and game winner in double overtime of game six.
The biggest surprise to come out of this series is the performance of goaltender Thomas Greiss as he had the best save percentage and best goals against average in the first round of this year’s playoffs. Greiss out performed Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo throughout the series. Islander fans were devastated when they learned that Jaroslav Halak was missing some time in the playoffs.  Greiss helped them breathe a lot easier after a masterful performance for the team in blue and orange.
The Islanders need to improve on their depth scoring as John Tavares had been a part of nine of the sixteen goals in the series. Kyle Okposo and Tavares were the leading scorers of the first round but they can’t be relied on if they want to get past a fast and offensive juggernaut in the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Islanders will look to get contributions from depth forwards such as; Cal Clutterbuck, Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome.
The Islanders are very banged up as they are missing starting goaltender Jaroslav Halak, forward Anders Lee and defenseman Ryan Pulock. Anders Lee is a key role in playing in front of the net to help shooters find an opening and is very physical due to his 6’4 stature. Jaroslav Halak was having one of his best seasons of his career before suffering a low body injury in the March 8th game against their rival the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ryan Pulock played fifteen games in the regular season and showed great defensive skills before suffering a upper body injury in game four vs the Panthers.

The Islanders will be playing their first game of the second round vs the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 27th in Tampa,Florida.