The Islanders did the hard part in making the playoffs.
Succeeding in the playoffs is the harder part.
Their first-round opponent, the Penguins, won Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, beating Barry Trotz’s Capitals along the way both times, and still have a core of players from those championship squads -- Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, defenseman Kris Letang and goalie Matt Murray, most notably.
“A lot of similar faces,” center Brock Nelson said Monday after the Islanders' first playoff practice in East Meadow. “It’s a big challenge for us. Nobody really expected us to be here.