After dropping Game 2 in heartbreaking fashion, the New York Islanders dug deep and responded the following game. Now they’ll have to do it again in Game 6 on Thursday.
For the second time this series, and third time during the 2019-20 campaign, the Islanders battled back in the third period to force overtime. On both occasions in the postseason, the Islanders have come up just short.
If there was any sense of frustration or dread after the latest example the Islanders weren’t showing. As they have done throughout the playoffs the Islanders were calm and collected following the Game 5 loss. By no means were the Islanders thrilled with what happened, but a sense that they were wavering in their belief never arose.
Focus forward. pic.twitter.com/OWoQjRCV8a
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) September 2, 2020
“In the playoffs you just have to move on,” Derick Brassard said on Tuesday after I asked him about the mindset of dropping a close game in overtime. “Tomorrow is a different day. We’re not going to look behind, we’re going to look ahead. We had some really good looks in Overtime. We came back in the game and we showed some character. It could have gone either way, but tonight wasn’t our night. We’ll focus on what we have to do in the next couple of hours to get ready for the next game.”
It’s the mentality that the New York Islanders have had all throughout the playoffs during the highs and the lows, which have been few. And it’s what has helped New York get to a game away from a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.
When the Islanders were down 3-1 in the final minutes of the third their calm demeanor and belief in their system is what helped fight back to tie the game.
“It’s just our belief in each other,” Devon Toews said on Wednesday. “We’re such a close-knit team and we’ve had a few of these games where we’ve gotten down. The attitude on the bench is so positive and everyone is ready to go. We kind of have a next shift mentality when we’re going through. Especially last night in that third period we were just going.
“Our belief in each other is what kind of drives us.”
“We all realize how big this opportunity is… We want to play well for everybody watching back on the Island and we want to prove to ourselves that we can do this. And we have the team that can."
🎥 Hear from Cizikas, Toews, Mayfield & Clutterbuck. pic.twitter.com/qCqdjyQFz8
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) September 2, 2020
While the New York Islanders have not managed to close out a series on the first try yet during this playoffs, they’ve always found a way to do it on the next opportunity. They’ll have another chance to do so again on Thursday when they hit the ice for Game 6.
It would be wise not to give the Flyers any more life than they have. Philadelphia has shown why they are where they are at the moment.
“There’s not much room out there and systematically both teams are pretty dialed in,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “You just have to compete and that’s what you have to embrace. That’s why today is a good day for me personally. I’m embracing that it’s going to be hard. We’re playing a really good hockey team and we’re a good hockey team. You’re going to have to fight for those inches.
“That’s what gets me excited and hopefully I can get our players excited about it as well.”
