[Cali Panthers Fan]

The Isles are a team built on goaltending and team defense, but they really do lack the talent to score.

Carolina is one of the top defensive teams in the league, so as long as they get halfway decent goaltending (and by the looks of things recently, they will) I can't imagine they will give up a lot of goals to an Islanders team that struggles to score (only Washington scored fewer goals among playoff teams).

Then again, Carolina has been picked to go far the last few playoffs and been a disappointment, so it could just as easily be an upset if they get goalied by NYI. They scored plenty in the regular season, but would you say they have any elite talents that can finish chances and change the momentum in a series? Lots of scoring by committee, but only two players at or above a point per game pace, and one of them was traded at the deadline to them (Guentzel). I'm skeptical.

This could be a bit of a snoozer series. I'm taking the Canes in six, but I'm not super confident in that pick.