Good Morning, Islanders Country.
A rollercoaster of a game. A rollercoaster of a season.
Last night was a microcosm of the entire year. There was the good, the bad, the outrageous, and the absurd. I’ve repeatedly said this season didn’t make any sense, and in that sense, the ending was appropriate.
The Isles proved in this series that they could play with the Canes; they just couldn’t beat them, and in Game 5, to a great extent, they beat themselves with some bad luck mixed in, far too much for the team with less talent to overcome.
A bad goal by Varly on the first shot, then a bad deflection off Bortuzzo’s stick, followed by a bad decision by Romanov, a slow-developing penalty shot goal, and the Islanders went from believing to disbelief.
And then, when we started thinking about the inevitable end of the season, they showed the resiliency that Patrick Roy has talked about so often in recent weeks, rallying for two goals to tie the game heading into the third period.
Belief was restored, but only briefly.
This was a series lost in the third period, as were so many games this season. A puck bounced over JG Pageau’s stick, leading to Jack Drury's goal. And then, incredibly, the Canes scored two goals in less than 10 seconds (this time eight) for the second time when the unluckiest of bounces confirmed that it wasn’t meant to be for the Islanders in this game or season.
This was unlike any season I’ve ever watched as a fan.
This team managed to win enough to keep things interesting and exciting, all while losing in spectacular and new ways on a recurring basis. For years, the Islanders were branded as boring. This season was anything but that, though the swings in emotions and swings in play are not the characteristics of a team capable of sustained success.
It was a wild ride-or-die year.
Things will be different, they always are, but how different? That’s the question that will linger until ownership or the GM starts to provide the answers.
Let’s dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: Jack Drury scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, and Stefan Noesen cleaned up a fluky puck bounce off the boards for another eight seconds later as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Islanders 6-3 on Tuesday night, ending the Isles’ season with a Game 5 win at PNC Arena. Mike Reilly, Brock Nelson, and Casey Cizikas scored for the Isles, and Semyon Varlamov had 32 saves in the loss. Teuvo Teravainen and Andrei Svechnikov each scored in the opening minutes, and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored a penalty shot after Alexander Romanov was called for covering the puck in the crease. Frederik Andersen has 22 saves in the win for Carolina.
KEY MOMENT(s):
🔷 After Brock Nelson tied the game at 3:47 of the second period, Casey Cizikas tied the game 3-3 with 22 seconds left in the period, scoring into an open net with a one-timer from the slot after Frederik Andersen lost an edge at the left post.
🔻 Jack Drury made it 4-3 at 4:36, scoring short side from the left circle after Brady Skjei’s initial shot from the right circle deflected to him off the skate of Alexander Romanov and jumped over JG Pageau’s stick.
🔻 On the ensuing face-off, Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov came out of his net to play a dump-in, but the puck caromed off a stanchion back toward the crease, where Noesen tapped it into the open net to make it 5-3.
3 REACTIONS
❶ PROVED EVERYONE WRONG: "I'm proud of every single player in here. Everybody thought were weren't going to make the playoffs,” JG Pageau said. “We proved everyone wrong. Everyone that they were gonna sweep us. I thought we gave it a good shot. Didn't really get the bounces [...] We'll be back."
❷ FEELS EMPTY: "I feel like we deserve a little bit better, and I'm not saying we should have won that series,” said Patrick Roy. “I'm saying that we could go home right now and play game number six easily, and instead, it's over. It feels empty."
❸ ALWAYS PROUD: "Just to get to the playoffs, had to put a lot of things together in a season where we were just fighting all year long,” Anders Lee said. “I'm always proud of this group."
GAME IMPACT SCORE
🏆 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS:
📰 NEWS: The Islanders, like every team, will have some decisions to make, and after years of continuity on the fourth line, things may change with Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin as unrestricted free agents. Mike Reilly made a strong case to come back to solidify depth on defense and could be the one UFA that is retained for next season. If there are more drastic changes to be made, then moving an expiring contract a year early could be a consideration.
Looking Ahead
Roster: 18 (10F/6D/2G)
Cap Hit: $81.41M Cap Space: $6.29M
Is it over now?
The MSG Networks broadcast flashed the career numbers for both Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin after the game, the recognition that we may not see two of the longest-tenured Islanders back on Long Island next season.
Lou takes the lead
Lou Lamoriello served in the 325th playoff game of his NHL career and passed Glen Sather (324) for sole possession of the most by a general manager in League history. Sather’s total excludes the contest in the 1988 Stanley Cup Final that was suspended at 16:37 of the second period due to power failure.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Evgeni Kuznetsov is the first player to convert a penalty shot against the Isles in the playoffs. Thomas Greiss stopped Aleksander Barkov (in overtime) in 2016, while Billy Smith and Chico Resch each stopped two. It was the second successful penalty shot in Carolina history (Jordan Martinook last year vs. New Jersey). Kuznetsov pushed the Carolina lead to 3-1 at 13:22 when he skated in slowly before roofing a snapshot over Varlamov, who had attempted a poke check.
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On May 1st, 2021, Anthony Beauvillier scored twice, and Semyon Varlamov stopped 28 shots for his league-leading seventh shutout of the season as the New York Islanders beat the rival New York Rangers 3-0 Saturday night to clinch a playoff spot for the third straight year. The 33-year-old Varlamov, who had three shutouts against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, added another as the Islanders dominated from start to finish.
A smattering of fans at Nassau Coliseum chanted "we want playoffs” as the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard clock above center ice. “I thought we did a good job of setting the tone early," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. ”I thought we stayed on task. We didn’t deviate. And we got the result we wanted."
🔗 Islanders undone by poor third period as season ends with loss to Hurricanes in Game 5 heartbreaker by Ethan Sears, New York Post “The Islanders played just well enough to believe until the moment their goal became impossible. They bowed out of the season on Tuesday evening after scratching and clawing their way back from an early deficit before the third period did them in.”
🔗 Islanders 2024 Free Agents, Draft Targets, Offseason Guide After NHL Playoff Loss by Julia Stumbaugh, Bleacher Report “The New York Islanders have been eliminated from the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now it's time for general manager Lou Lamoriello and the Islanders front office to turn their focus toward shaping this team into a 2025 contender.”
And we leave you with this ….the great hockey tradition …handshakes.
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