Islanders facing elimination again but enjoying themselves too much to have it all end now
The Islanders' Jean-Gabriel Pageau celebrates after scoring in the third period of Game 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes. Credit: AP/Frank Franklin II
RALEIGH, N.C. — With the Islanders facing elimination in the first round for a second straight match in Tuesday night’s Game 5 against the Hurricanes at PNC Arena, Patrick Roy asked his players a simple question.
“I said, ‘What do you guys want?’ ” the coach said after Monday’s practice at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow. “We could tell you all the stories in the world, all the comebacks, what happened. Now it’s time for them to make their own story. It’s up to them what they want.
“They enjoy each other. They love to play for this logo. They love to play in front of these fans. No, they don’t want to see it ending.”
The Islanders prevented a sweep with a 3-2 double-overtime win in Saturday’s Game 4 at UBS Arena.
“Playoffs, it’s awesome,” Kyle Palmieri said. “Just the emotion. Everything about it. As a hockey player, it doesn’t matter if you’re a kid or you’re mid-30s, it’s the best. It’s really hard to describe how exciting and how fun it is to have the opportunity to compete with your teammates for the Stanley Cup.”
The Islanders lost the series’ first two games at PNC Arena, dropping Game 1, 3-1, despite dictating the style and pace of play. The Hurricanes rallied from a three-goal deficit to win Game 2, 5-3, holding the Islanders to three shots in the final 36 minutes.
So the Islanders know they can play well on the road in this series. They also know how tough it is to beat the Hurricanes in their own building.
“We know there’s a hill to climb here, but we feel confident and we have belief,” said Mathew Barzal, who scored twice in Game 4, including the winner. “It’s going to be hostile. It’s going to be fun that way going into such a building that’s loud and crazy. We know they play well at home. We know it’s going to be a tough game. It’s going to be just like every other game in the series, it’s going to be tight-checking and physical.
“Every game just seems to be almost like a coin flip right now.”
Of course, the odds of winning three straight coin flips — as the Islanders must do to advance to a second-round matchup against the Rangers — aren’t favorable.
However, the Islanders have been a streaky team since Roy took over for Lane Lambert on Jan. 20. They won six straight from Feb. 26-March 10, immediately followed by an 0-5-1 skid. But the Islanders ended the regular season on an 8-0-1 run to finish third in the Metropolitan Division after being five points out of a playoff spot on March 31.
“We had our backs against the wall for a long time,” Roy said. “It’s not something new for this group.”
It comes down to a simple mindset.
“We have to win tomorrow and that’s all we can worry about,” Anders Lee said. “We go in with that understanding of what has to be done. It’s nothing more about how well we’ve been playing or what game should have been what.”
These Islanders still have the chance to write their own story.
Notes & quotes: Roy said left wing Matt Martin (lower body/day-to-day) is unavailable for Game 5 but did travel with the team. Simon Holmstrom, a healthy scratch the last two games, skated in Martin’s spot at practice with rookie Kyle MacLean and Cal Clutterbuck, but Roy said he had not decided whether Holmstrom or rookie Ruslan Iskhakov, who logged only 5:58 in Game 4, will play.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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