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WASHINGTON – The Islanders have taken the safest course to ensure the home advantage in their first-round playoff series against the Penguins, symbolizing their historic defensive turnaround this season.
Needing only one point in their regular season finals against the Capitals on Saturday night at Capital One Arena, the Islanders got two 3-0 wins.
"It will be really fun," said goaltender Robin Lehner, who made 29 saves to extend his career-high with his sixth shutout. "We really wanted ice cream at home. We saw how special the Colosseum and its fans were. It will be a good series. It's a good team. It will be a good challenge. If we stick to our game, I love our chances. "
This is the first time since 1988 that the Islanders will have the advantage of playing at home for a series. The first-round playoff games will be held at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum; all subsequent tours will be held at Barclays Center.
The NHL playoffs open Wednesday and the full schedule will be unveiled Sunday.
The Islanders will play Games 1 and 2 – and 5 and 7, if necessary – at the venerable Grange, which recently hosted a playoff game in 2015.
"It's huge," said defenseman Ryan Pulock. "The Coliseum is starting to make waves and in the playoffs it will be another level. Having this, and our advantage, is huge. "
Third-row center Valtteri Filppula, back in training after missing eight games with a hyper-extended left elbow, scored two goals for the Islanders (48-27-7).
They finished in second place with 103 points, the franchise record since 1984, their last appearance in the Stanley Cup final.
Pheonix Copley made 18 saves for the Capitals (48-26-8), who took first place Thursday night and left regulars John Carlson, Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie.
"We talked about it before the match. Do not fool our teammates; Let's not deceive the process, "said Islanders coach Barry Trotz, who led the Capitals to the Stanley Cup last season. "We wanted to go far. We wanted to play all year round without worrying about the results. The results will come.
Although they lost in overtime to the Rangers, 4-3, the Penguins took third place when they earned a point by forcing the OT. The Hurricanes were looking to beat the Penguins but lost one point despite a 4-3 win over the Flyers.
The Capitals will play the Hurricanes. This winner will face the winner of the Islanders-Penguins series in the division final.
The Islanders relied on the stifling defense that fueled their recovery after allowing 293 goals last season, the biggest number in the NHL since 2007.
Lehner, likely from match 1, and Thomas Greiss will share the Jennings Trophy, with the Islanders scoring 196 goals. The Islanders are the first team since the Ottawa Senators in 1918-19 to go from worst to first in this category. "We have not started cheating," said Pulock. "We just stuck with her."
Filppula gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 2:55 of the second period on a breakaway after being suspended by defenseman Devon Toews.
He then reached the crease and redirected defender Adam Pelech's feed back to 2-0 at 10:54 of the third period. Matt Martin added an empty net at 17:27.
"It's been a fun year so far," said Lehner, now sober and healthy after struggling with addiction and mental health issues. "The season was long, but it's a big group and it helped me. It will be really fun to go to the playoffs. It was a year of ups and downs. "
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He started reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has already covered the Rangers and the Devils. The Jets, St. John's and MLB were also named.
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