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Contributions from Brendan Burke, Stan Fischler, Chris King, and Jiggs McDonald.
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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
I’m about optimistic as you can be down 0-2, and you should be too. This was always a winnable series and remains so. The Islanders find themselves in a better position than they were in 2019 when after two losses at Barclays Center, they headed to Carolina with their season on the brink.
This time, in essentially a must-win, they’ll be playing in front of their home fans, eager to make playoff memories in their new building for the first time and a place where they had a 25-13-3 record, the eighth-best mark in the NHL.
I can’t wait to see the playoff towels on the seats for the first time.
“It’ll be emotional. It’ll be a lot of fun,” Kyle Palmieri said in The New York Post. “It’s gonna be loud; a lot of guys are still here from the run from a couple years ago. We’re looking forward to it, getting back in front of our fans, and I know fans are looking forward to it, too.”
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes didn’t win a single road playoff game in six tries last year (0-6) and lost each game by at least two goals. Twice they had their opponents where they have the Islanders, down 0-2, and each time, the series went back to Carolina tied. They ended up winning a 3-2 Game 7 against the Bruins but were blown out 6-2 by the Rangers in Game 7 in the second round.
For everyone in attendance tonight, bottle up however you felt after Game 2 and let it out in a way that reverberates all the way back to Raleigh.
The last time the Islanders were in this scenario was in 2002, when they dropped the first two games in Toronto against the Maple Leafs. I was at Nassau Coliseum that night, wearing white, along with 16,000+ others for a whiteout, and you would’ve thought the Islanders were the team with a 2-0 series lead.
The seven-year playoff drought had a lot to do with it, but there was just so much pent-up energy in the Coliseum that the result never felt in doubt. When Alexander Mogilny scored to give the Leafs an early lead, fans didn’t get fret; they just got louder. The team fed off it and overwhelmed Toronto scoring six unanswered goals the rest of the way. It was a party.
That’s the type of effort the Isles need from everyone on the ice and in the arena tonight in order to seize back momentum and stay on course to send this series back to Carolina, all tied up and make it a best-of-three.
Coming up a change may be coming on the blueline, and Rod Brind’Amour has his own problems with the referees. Plus, Scott Mayfield challenges fans to be as loud as the Coliseum; it’s been a long time since the Isles led a playoff game after one period and the first and last OT loss at home in the 1980s
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The learning curve was always going to be steep for rookie defenseman Samuel Bolduc as he unexpectedly found himself playing in his first postseason after just 17 regular season games, but recent mistakes have led to head coach Lane Lambert benching him in two out of the previous three games and his spot in the lineup is now in question for Game 3 at UBS Arena.
"He hasn't played too many games up here, and every young player that comes up there is a continuing learning process, and playoffs is a completely different level, said Lambert when asked about Bolduc. "It's been a little bit of a challenge for him, but he's done some good things too."
Lambert said injured Alexander Romanov was getting "closer" and has been skating well, but the evaluation is ongoing to determine if he's ready for playoff action. Romanov hasn't been ruled out for Game 3, as all lineup decisions will be made on Friday.
If Romanov can't go, it's no guarantee Bolduc will be the sixth defenseman, as Lambert mentioned that Parker Wotherspoon could be an option despite having not seen game action since Jan. 21, a 5-2 home loss to the Canes at UBS Arena.
◾️ TICKED OFF: While Islanders fans were beside themselves about the high-sticking penalty on Scott Mayfield that wasn’t called, Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour had his own issues with the officiating in Game 2.
Late in the third period, left-wing Teuvo Teravainen was slashed by JP Pageau. No penalty was called on the play, Teravainen didn’t come out for overtime, and it was revealed after the game that he broke his hand and will undergo surgery.
“They’re going to complain about all the power plays, but it’s a tomahawk chop,” Brind’Amour said. “So I’m a little [ticked], to be honest with you.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders are back on Long Island for the first playoff game in UBS Arena history tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. The puck drops for Game 3 from Elmont, NY, at 7:00 PM ET.
🏆 STANLEY CUP® PLAYOFFS:
🏟 SHAKE THE STABLE: Being part of the first playoff game at the new arena is special for head coach Lane Lambert and his team, which consists of many of the same players that created memories at the Nassau Coliseum and now have a chance to now do the same at UBS Arena. "I think it means a lot; it's a pretty cool thing that's going to happen, said Lambert. "There have been some amazing playoff games in the other building, and this is going to be the first one of many."
"The Coli was loud; I don't know if they can get it [UBS Arena] to the same level," said defenseman Scott Mayfield with a smile when asked about the team's first playoff home game at UBS Arena.
Challenge accepted.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick via Ethan Sears, The Islanders have gone 22 straight playoff games without leading after the first period, the longest streak since the Montreal Maroons from 1928-35. The last time the team had a first-period lead in the postseason was back on September 15, 2020, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning. A game the Isles won in 2OT on a goal by Jordan Eberle.
🗓 ISLES REWIND: On April 21, 1980, The Islanders were ready to sweep the Boston Bruins and move on to the semi-finals, but Terry O’Reilly had other ideas. O’Reilly scored at 17:13 of overtime as the Bruins defeated the Isles 4-3 to cut the Isles' lead to 3 games to 1. The Isles wouldn’t lose another home playoff game in overtime for 13 years. The teams would play Game 5 in Boston the following night, and the Islanders scored three times in the third period to eliminate Boston en route to their first Stanley Cup later that spring.
🎧 Island Ice Ep. 162: Isles-Hurricanes Game 2 analysis w/ Andrew Gross “Andrew Gross breaks down Game 2 of the Islanders-Hurricanes playoff series, a 4-3 OT loss as the Isles go down in the series, 2-0.”
🔗 Islanders excited to christen UBS Arena as a Stanley Cup playoff venue by Andrew Gross, Newsday “Friday night’s Game 3 will be a milestone match for the Islanders beyond desperately needing a victory after losing the first two games of their first-round Stanley Cup series to the Hurricanes. It will be the first playoff game at UBS Arena, which opened last season. Whether their new home turns into Fort Neverlose II and becomes, a worthy postseason successor to Nassau Coliseum is still to be determined.”
🔗 Who’s on defense for the Islanders in Game 3? via Dominik, Lighthouse Hockey “Lambert was asked by media for updates on Romanov and possibly not using Bolduc, and the answer was clear as mud: Romanov “could be” available. Parker Wotherspoon has “always been an option.” (Wither, Parker? Or should we say, “Wother, Parker?”)”
And we leave you with this… the festivities are starting early tomorrow.
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That first period lead stat is completely absurd!
Big game tonight for all sorts of reasons; I hope everyone who gets to attend has a good time. I was at the 2002 game as well; completely different atmosphere given the playoff drought, but similar feelings about the prior two games. Need the crowd to be a factor.