The New York Islanders didn’t take the ice on Tuesday after being routed in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Islanders coach Barry Trotz put the team through a light workout and stretch, and then they watched film.
The New York Islanders head coach characterized Tuesday as a day to regroup.
“We’re trying to catch up,” Trotz said. “You go to Game 7, you fly, you come back. We’re trying to get ready for another team and process that. Trying to muster the energy to play a very good rested Tampa Team. Today was just about regrouping and getting a little bit of clarity and what we need to do. A lot of stuff we did yesterday is manageable, but we’ll have to have a much better, tighter game than we did yesterday.”
The Islanders suffered one of their worst loss of not only the postseason, but the entirety of the 2019-20 season. The last time the Islanders had given up eight goals was back on Dec. 17 to Nashville and the loss marked the first time in the playoffs that New York trailed in a series.
The loss highlighted the skill of Tampa Bay and the uphill battle the Islanders have in front of them.
Despite the absence of star Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay has remained an offensive powerhouse during the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Tampa averaged 3.00 goals per game through the first two rounds of the playoffs and had a league-leading 3.47 goals per contest during the regular season.
“They were able to kind of stretch us out a little bit and create some time and space at the top of the zone,” Devon Toews said Tuesday. “We kind of struggled just defending that and reading it a little bit. There’s obviously a few things that we like to do down low that take away time and space.
“We weren’t quite as efficient at that as we usually are and I think it showed.”
Prior to Monday, the most goals New York had allowed in the playoffs were the five they surrendered in their Game 6 double-overtime loss to Philadelphia. In fact, the Islanders didn’t allow eight goals through their entire series with Florida or Washington in the previous rounds.
And the frustration was visible as the goals started to pile up in Game 1 of the conference finals. At one point, Mat Barzal slammed his stick against the glass twice, which was caught by the NBC cameras.
“Last night the game was on the scoreboard one-sided, Trotz said. “They ended up scoring on virtually on almost all their chances. If you look at the analytics of the game it was probably a lot closer than an 8-2, but it doesn’t feel that good when you’re sitting there and the score is 8-2. The only analytics that really matters is the scoreboard.
“We just have to put that aside. We have to just focus on what we need to tighten up, we did that today, and then we tried to get a little mental break.”
The New York Islanders certainly seemed ready to turn the page after the Game 1 loss and the frustration didn’t appear to carry over from the previous night when the team met with reporters on Tuesday afternoon.
“The mood was good today,” Mat Barzal said. “Obviously it was a little bit sour after the game last night just because it obviously wasn’t our best game as a team. The mood today was good and we’re excited to get another crack at them tomorrow.”
Game 2 between New York and Tampa Bay takes place on Wednesday with puck drop slated for 8 p.m. in Edmonton.
