Russell’s Roundup: Lamoriello Ousted; NHL Playoffs Buzz On

On a day with four NHL playoff games perfectly staggered, primed for rapt attention, the New York Islanders stole all the headlines. After seven years, the Islanders moved on from Lou Lamoriello. Lamoriello, 82, led the Islanders to their best moments since the early 1980s, but facing dwindling attendance and a roster stuck in the NHL’s mushy middle, it became time to move on.

Lamoriello finishes 268-195-71 with the Islanders. From the lofty heights of hiring Barry Trotz and acquiring players like Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Kyle Palmieri to supplement the squad, he saved the franchise from imminent doom. With John Tavares exiting, the franchise hadn’t been that low since John Spano “owned” the team.

In recent years, the bottom fell out, and Lamoriello ultimately stayed loyal to a fault. He should still be remembered as the current second-best ever Islanders’ general manager. His legacy should be strong, even if recent seasons caused severe damage.

New York Islanders:

First, the news that the franchise decided to move on from Lamoriello came out just after 2:15 on the East Coast. Here’s the breaking news story.

After that, we initially revisited his record as Islanders GM, evaluating every major move he made:

Finally, we broke down the main reasons the Islanders decided to move on from Lamoriello.

NHL News, Playoffs & National Hockey Now

New Jersey Hockey Now: Gut punch. If you close your eyes and think back to the Islanders against the Carolina Hurricanes in game one last year, then open your eyes and see this game, it’s eerily similar. The Devils outplayed Carolina for stretches in a very even game, yet never truly threatened. Carolina now has a 2-0 stranglehold.

Vegas Hockey Now: If that was a gut punch, this was a sucker punch. The Minnesota Kaprizovs, sorry, the Wild, stormed out to a dominant 4-0 lead, and despite Vegas’ attempts, they could not get back into this one. The series is tied 1-1.

Florida Hockey Now: After taking a nap, the Cats woke up and clawed the Lightning to near death. Seriously, the Florida Panthers just had their way all night long. Florida knows how to flip the switch. Oh, and Matthew Tkachuk returned and scored a pair because he just dominates the postseason.

Sportsnet: Well, the Ottawa Senators tried. They erased a 2-0 deficit, only to fall victim to a Max Domi overtime goal. Ottawa now trails 2-0 in the series, and it feels all but insurmountable. Here’s the Domi winner.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Elsewhere in the Metropolitan Division, the Pittsburgh Penguins have their marching orders. Here, Dan Kingerski perfectly lays out Pittsburgh’s offseason plans.

Philly Hockey Now: The Flyers desperately need center help. That became even more exasperated after trading Scott Laughton at the deadline. Here’s three marque options for Philly to target.