You wouldn't know the Islanders wanted to fly south for the first round of the playoffs by the way they went after the Flyers in their season finale Sunday afternoon. A loss or tie would have led them to a potentially more favorable matchup against the Hurricanes. Instead, by spanking the Flyers, the Isles moved into the No. 5 spot and a showdown with the Maple Leafs.

Goaltending aside, the Maple Leafs-Islanders series will come down to two familiar matchups: Leafs captain Mats Sundin vs. Islander captain Michael Peca and Leafs left wing/center Shayne Corson vs. Islander center Alexei Yashin. Of course, the two Islanders stars were shining in different locales -- Peca in Buffalo and Yashin in Ottawa -- when they last went head-to-head with these two Leafs.

Peca did a nice job against Sundin in 1999, when the Sabres stopped the Leafs in the Eastern Conference finals. He'll likely need to be even better this time as Sundin has raised the level of his play, especially during important games. Expect Peca to be physical with the bigger Sundin. And, Peca will try to annoy Sundin by chipping at him with his stick.

You can expect Islanders coach Peter Laviolette to try to help Peca by having his top defensive pair of Kenny Jonsson and Adrian Aucoin on the ice against Sundin's line.

In the other matchup, Corson will try to suffocate and intimidate Yashin in the same manner he did last spring when the Leafs swept Yashin's Senators, 4-0, in their first-round series. In those four games, Yashin contributed only one assist and no teammate ever stepped up to help by challenging Corson. That won't be the case this time. Obviously, Laviolette will be looking to avoid this matchup. But, on the road, when Leafs' coach Pat Quinn will have the last line change, Laviolette might opt to move tough guy Steve Webb onto Yashin's line to provide some protection.

Yashin comes into the series nursing a groin injury that forced him to miss the club's final four games. If Yashin isn't 100 percent, it will be an uphill battle for the Islanders.

If the Isles, like the Senators last season, fail to protect their superstar center, then they deserve to lose in the first round.

There is one other key matchup in this series: Leafs veteran coach Quinn vs. Isles rookie coach Laviolette. In a series where both teams will be looking to force certain matchups, it will be up to the coaches to keep their benches alert. And, Quinn will use the media to bait both the Isles and Laviolette, who'll need to keep a cool head in the heat of battle.

In the end, though, if Yashin and Peca can't win their individual matchups with Sundin and Corson, the Isles will be headed back to the beach.

E.J. Hradek writes hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com.