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Tuesday, April 8
Updated:
April 9, 8:17 PM ET
Pivotal players: Jonsson & White
By E.J. Hradek
ESPN The Magazine
Kenny Jonsson
N.Y. Islanders
GP: 71
G-A-P: 8-18-26
+/-: -8
PIM: 24
Playoffs:
9 gp, 1-2-3, 4 PIM
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Todd White
Ottawa Senators
GP: 80
G-A-P: 25-35-60
+/-: 19
PIM: 28
Playoffs:
14 pg, 2-2-4, 6 PIM
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Kenny Jonsson is a very steady presence on the Islanders' blue line -- that is, when he's actually on the Isles' blue line. Jonsson, 28, has been bothered by various injuries throughout his nine NHL seasons.
Most recently, Jonsson has been dealing with post-traumatic migraine headaches. Jonsson, who has had concussion problems in the past, suffered this latest injury in a collision with Devils right winger Grant Marshall on March 30. He missed the next three games, returning to action in the season finale against the Hurricanes.
In their first-round series against the Senators, the Isles will need all hands on deck. Jonsson's continued presence is particularly important for two reasons: First, he has the size (6-foot-3, 215), skill and smarts to deal with the Sens' high-end forwards. Second, he plays the left side. That's key because the Isles' left defensemen will be matched against the Senators' dangerous right wingers -- Daniel Alfredsson, Marian Hossa and Martin Havlat.
With Jonsson in the lineup, Isles coach Peter Laviolette can roll his top four D-men (Jonsson, Roman Hamrlik, Adrian Aucoin and Janne Niinimaa), while spotting his 5-6 defensemen in the right situations. If Jonsson can't play, Laviolette will be forced to push one of his depth defenders (Eric Cairns, Mattias Timander or Radek Martinek) up in the rotation. That could be a big problem against the Senators, who have the skill to expose their weaknesses.
Jonsson also sees time on both the power-play and penalty-killing units. If he can't play, their special teams will suffer. Simply, the Islanders can't afford to be much less than perfect against the Presidents' Trophy winners. And without Jonsson, they will be.
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The Senators have some of the most gifted young forwards in the game. Marian Hossa, Daniel Alfredsson and Martin Havlat all can work magic with the puck. Unfortunately, none of them are centers -- they're all right wingers.
In the playoffs, while great play from the wing does help, you need to get strong work from your centers. In recent seasons, Cup winners like the Wings (Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov), Avs (Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg), Devils (Jason Arnott, Bobby Holik) and the Stars (Mike Modano, Joe Nieuwendyk) all have received superior play from their top centers.
In Ottawa, center Todd White will get an opportunity to step up against the likes of Alexei Yashin and Michael Peca in the Sens' first-round series against the Isles.
Quietly, the 5-foot-10, 185-pound White totaled 25 goals, 60 points and a plus-19 rating. A good fit in coach Jacques Martin's system, White averaged nearly 18 minutes per night. He contributed eight goals and 15 assists on the club's second-ranked power play.
Last season, in 12 playoff games, White contributed just four points. This time around, he needs to do more. Yeah, the Sens also need more from some of their bigger name stars. Still, they won't go far in the postseason if they don't get better production out of the middle. If White doesn't put up some numbers, look for Jason Spezza to get a shot somewhere down the playoff road.
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