It's not bad enough that their power play is pathetic, they have to compound it leaving a player wide open in front of the net for a shorthanded goal.
Oh well... no miracle here. Apparently their game plan was to just sit back and wait for Tampa to make a mistake. But it was the Isles who made a horrible mistake that resulted in the only goal...
It would have been nice if they had played the first two periods with anywhere near the fire they showed in the third period.
A nice run, but not nice enough..... reality is that they lost to a better team. They need another scoring threat.... and I didnt need to tap into the bourbon at 11pm
Such an anti-climactic end to a really majestic playoff run. Can't help but feel like we squandered a huge opportunity with Montreal being next up. We win last night and the cup is most likely ours. I feel devastated quite honestly. I love this team and there is no way to keep this squad together due to the cap situation. I would have loved to see this team be immortalized with a cup. Pain.
The fact that Trotz actually said after the game “I talk about the journey probably more than the outcome. The journey is very important for the players.” is pretty bizarre to me. This isn’t college, this isn’t a team full of rookies. These are veteran professionals. Maybe if you cared a little more about the outcome you would have made some adjustments that could have changed it?
Great run by the Islanders! Tough way to end it, but they really impressed me. Not just in 2021, but 2020 too. They just find ways to win and wear down opponents. My one concern if I was an Islanders fan is that getting this far is NOT easy. You can't just assume you will return in 2022. There are a lot of great teams in the East. So I completely understand the frustrated fan today knowing how close they were to the Cup Final and The Stanley Cup itself, but you still need to be proud because that team really fought hard and the energy at the Isles home games was amazing!
True, but the ascent to Cup champs isn’t necessarily in a straight line up. TB is the prime example; just starting their timeline at the 2015 loss to the Blackhawks in the finals, they blew a 3-1 lead to the Pens the next year in the conference finals, lost a game 7 at home to the Caps two years later, and had, arguable, the greatest playoff choke job in history the very next year. Now they are on the verge of a rare feat in modern hockey and nobody is shocked that they are going to accomplish it. If you have the right coach and team, and a strong organization behind you, you will get there even if there are a few playoff failures on the way.
I am afraid this team has reached its ceiling as far as playoff runs go. Trotz's refusal to make changes on offense is pretty mind boggling, considering that they just can't score and most players look too scared to take a shot unless it's desperation time.
I disagree. They don’t look scared; they look like they have absolute belief in Trotz’s philosophy and for good reason… it has worked. if this team is going to win a Cup it’s going to be because the players ascend to a level that they haven’t reached yet, and there is no reason to believe we’ve seen the best of players like Barzal, Wahlstrom, Dobson, Beau and Sorokin, and that best isn’t good enough.
Yeah, the Islanders are not going away. They will be competing for a Cup again next year. Just saying it is really tough to get so close and then not win because nothing is guaranteed. We don't know for sure, of course, but I think the Islanders would likely have won the Cup if they won Game 7 on Friday. They just had that feeling about them. Getting to the ECF back to back years is huge and a big accomplishment and Isles fans should be proud. I was just saying I get the frustration of being so close. I think one thing Trotz realized is his Caps teams were getting burned out being the best in the NHL and winning President's Trophies during the regular season. Come playoff time they were not hitting on all cylinders. I feel like the last couple years with the Islanders he realized he could dial it back a little in the regular season and then hit the gas come playoff time. Easier said than done, but it has worked for them the last few seasons.
Here is an article I came across about Trotz. https://bluelinestation.com/2021/06/26/new-york-rangers-now-isles-done-lets-talk-barry-trotz/
Hahahahaha! I don’t know who the writer is trying to convince of his bullshit, the reader or himself?
