Islanders Set To Kick Off 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs Monday In Providence

Playoff hockey is back in the AHL!

On Monday night, the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs get underway with first round action in the Atlantic Division between Bridgeport (NYI) and Providence (BOS).

The Islanders, who finished the regular season just above .500 hockey with a 31-30-11 record, caught some much-needed steam heading down the stretch in going 10-5-2 in their final 17 games to claw their way into the sixth and final playoff spot in the division.

"That's what we're playing for - is for playoffs and hopefully win the cup," Islanders head coach Brent Thompson said Thursday. "And, you know, this is step one, and it's huge. It's huge for the young guys. Organizationally, it gives the young guys an opportunity to battle in playoffs and see how intense that part of the game is."

For Bridgeport, they faced quite a bit of adversity early on in the regular season. The Islanders organization as a whole was hit hard by injuries and COVID, often times leaving the AHL affiliate with a 'skeleton crew' to work with in terms of putting out a full 18-skater lineup.

"It was a lot of ups and downs, a lot of adversity that we faced throughout this year," defenseman and team captain Seth Helgeson said. "And it's really rewarding that we worked our way into the playoffs. I think that's something that we can be proud of," he added, noting that they're not taking anything for granted with a tough Providence team on the schedule for the first round. "It's an exciting time and just getting ready for game one."

While their record certainly reflected that early-season struggle, Thompson feels overcoming that adversity and getting everyone on the same page heading down the stretch led to their surge up the Atlantic Division standings - and ultimately - into the playoff picture

"Our young guys got to feel the playoff intensity and playoff battles with that last 20 games of the season because we had to play playoff hockey to get in," Thompson explained. And we earned that right."

Beginning Monday night, they'll get to see first-hand what the Calder Cup Playoffs are all about when they take on the Providence Bruins.

"It was a great piece, this last 20 games, to get in and to see how hard it's going to be. We just took this step. Now it's another step that we have to take in order to be able to win the next round and go one game at a time there," Thompson said of the upcoming playoff run. "And that's kind of our mindset. It's been one game at a time. 20 games out here has just been one game at a time. Let's focus on what we have to do as a team and a group. And for the most part [we've] done really well with that."

As for their first round opponent, Thompson was respectful in acknowledging the fact that his team are the underdogs heading into the series against Providence. Having said that, he also feels the Islanders match up well with the PBruins.

"Providence is one of the hardest working hockey teams. They're always physical, they're big. They're aggressive. They're really a lot like Boston, as far as how aggressive they play," Thompson said, adding, "I look at at our match up against them, and listen, I feel we can hold our own. I'm not worried at all. I think we play our game. We focus on our structure, our habits that we want to do. It's going to be a war right to the end because they compete hard. I think it's going to be a pretty evenly matched series.

First Round Series Schedule: Providence (3) vs. Bridgeport (6)

Best-of-Three Series

Game 1 - Monday, May 2: Bridgeport at Providence, 7:05 p.m. ET Game 2 - Wednesday, May 4: Providence at Bridgeport, 7:05 p.m. ET * Game 3 - Friday, May 6: Bridgeport at Providence, 7:05 p.m. ET

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