Monday, May 9, 2016

2016 Playoffs, Lightning Game 5: Three O' Clock Low


Our New York Islanders dropped game 5 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday afternoon (0-4-1 in days games on ssn).  There were aspirations of forcing a game 6 with an inspired return to Brooklyn, but that scenario was not to be.  The 4-0 loss was an unfortunate way to end their first, 2nd round appearance since ‘93 and it came in a most humbling way for New York.  Victor Hedman (2), Brian Boyle and Nikita Kutcherov all came through for their team with 4 tallies and Ben Bishop played a lights-out game in net with 28 saves to earn his 5th career playoff shutout.


In another game where the Islanders struggled defensively and failed to control play in the neutral zone, Tampa Bay pushed the limit and overwhelmed them early.  It was difficult to watch the Lightning move freely about the crease and threaten offensively in front of Thomas Greiss.  Even worse was the Islanders inability to pressure Bishop (without an Anders Lee) and hold on in games they were leading on home ice, especially in the final period.  New York was held without a point for the final 117:14 of the series (John Tavares, pointless in games 2-5) and they were outscored 17-7 after a 4-1 lead in game 1.  Their PP was horrible (4 of 18) in the series and let them down at the worst possible times.  Choosing a Grail Knight for this game was not an easy thing to do, so I’ll pass and just name Thomas Greiss my Grail Knight for the series.  His team only won a game, but they lost 2 in OT and he had them in the thick of things when he got adequate support from the team in front of him.


Coach Capuano made some magic in the post season and he tried to juggle lines, make call ups and even allowed John Tavares to dictate the team’s travel and practice schedule going into the possible elimination game.  None of it worked out in the end.  “It’s brutal,” John Tavares said. “It’s hard to believe it’s over. You put a lot into it. We didn’t accomplish what we set out to do and it’s a tough way to go out.”  No one in blue and orange expected to go silent after an emotional 5-2 road win in game 1 where the Islanders frustrated and overwhelmed Ben Bishop and the Lightning attack.  But after some solid adjustments and a few key performances (without Stamkos & Stralman) by their vets, Tampa Bay out played and out coached New York for the remainder of the series en-route to their second consecutive appearance for the eastern conference finals.


“You don’t get to the final eight without doing some good things,” Tavares said. “That’s not good enough for us. The expectations are high. We want to go a lot further.”  After another 100pt season and accomplishing a second round opportunity, the Isles have a lot to be proud of, but the loss and the way it happened will haunt them all summer long.  A summer that will see new majority ownership of Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin take control ahead of minority owner, Charles Wang.  What will that mean for Garth Snow, Jack Capuano and a few of the big free agency questions the organization will have to sort out in the off season?  TSN’s Shawn Simpson made some ripples on Twitter when he mentioned “hearing” that special advisor to Garth Snow, George McPhee will take the Isles reins with Ledecky ownership.


The most intense moments of the loss came in the locker room after the game.  Frans Nielsen was quoted as saying, “I've always been proud to wear this jersey,” while Matt Martin added, "I love this team...I love this group ..(but) I don't know what the future holds. I've been here 7 years, & loved every second."  Travis Hamonic had a few emotional moments as well.  The Islanders 2nd round, 53rd overall 2008 pick had reportedly asked for a trade prior to the season, but seemed proud to be a member of the team.  "I love being an Islander, more than anything. It’s one of the best things I do in my life," he said. “It was a pretty cool feeling in Game 6 (winning the series against the Florida Panthers) and I’m glad we had a chance to do that in front of our fans. They’ve supported us throughout the whole season. Sorry, it just sucks. ... I’m really confident in our group. This is pretty frustrating.”  When asked about the loss, Hamonic added, “As a group we have to learn from this experience.”  We?  Jack Capuano hinted that Travis Hamonic may just remain with the team into next year.



I won’t get into too much about the culmination of the 2015-16 campaign now, but I promise to have a season review up in the next few days.



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