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NYHN Daily: Islanders Eliminated After Game 7 Loss to Lightning & More:

Published

3 years ago

June 26, 2021

The New York Islanders were unable to muster much as they fell 1-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Semi-Finals. It was a mistake with the man advantage that watched Tampa score their lone goal, the game-winning goal. This Islander group is a tight-knit one and this loss signals a new chapter. These stories and more in today’s daily links!

The Tampa Bay Lightning eliminated the New York Islanders from the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 1-0 win over New York in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals. It had been the first time the Islanders had been one win away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final since 1984. The Islanders were beat at their own game as their chances were limited. Semyon Varlamov gave his team a great effort but the offense, which had chances, could not come through. (NYI Hockey Now)

There was something poetically haunting about the way that the Tampa Bay Lightning scored the game-winning goal against the New York Islanders to end their season just short of a Stanley Cup Final appearance, again, in a 1-0 Game 7 loss. It came with the Islanders on the power play, which had been their Achilles heel all season long and into the postseason. The Islanders had a chance to swing the momentum in their favor and instead watched a golden chance turn into a heartbreaking nightmare. (NYI Hockey Now)

The sinking feeling in Mathew Barzal’s gut was palpable as he spoke with reporters Friday night. The New York Islanders star was trying to hold back the overwhelming emotions that were visible on his face after another heartbreaking 1-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, which kept the Isles from their first Stanley Cup appearance since 1984. The scene played out in some similar fashion or another among the four players that spoke to the media and tried to make some sense of what had just happened in a loss that seemed to hurt deeper than any they had felt before. Barzal was asked at one point if he could appreciate the steps the team had taken this year, but Barzal couldn’t stomach the thought at that moment. (NYI Hockey Now)

The Islanders have come so far. Yet it feels like there’s a long way still to go. So much progress. But still, not much to show for it but cracking voices and thousand-yard stares during a video news conference from the bowels of Amalie Arena late on Friday night after New York’s 1-0 loss in Game 7. Their pain from the Game 7 loss shows this team is no longer happy just to be there. (The Athletic)

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 18 saves for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 1-0 win against the New York Islanders in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals at Amalie Arena in Tampa on Friday. It was Vasilevskiy’s second shutout in three games and helped the Lightning return to the Stanley Cup Final for a second straight season, where the defending champions will face the Montreal Canadiens. Game 1 is at Tampa Bay on Monday. (NHL)

The pain the New York Islanders were feeling was raw and evident in the tears in their eyes and their cracking voices. They battled and believed until the final horn of their 1-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals at Amalie Arena on Friday that it was their turn to break through this season. So it hurt even more that they came up one goal, one win short and the Lightning advanced to the Stanley Cup Final at their expense for the second straight season. (NHL)

If president and general manager Lou Lamoriello allowed such individual awards, Semyon Varlamov would be the Islanders’ MVP. The goalie certainly showed why even as the Islanders’ thrilling playoff run came to an unsatisfying conclusion with a 1-0 loss to the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning in Game 7 of their NHL semifinal series on Friday night at Amalie Arena. (Newsday)

It was fun while it lasted for the Islanders. Three years of playoff successes under Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz, then this season’s deepest run yet. The Nassau Coliseum farewell, capped by the chaos that followed Anthony Beauvillier’s overtime game-winner against Tampa Bay on Wednesday. But such memories will be a consolation for the Islanders and their fans only in retrospect. Late Friday night, it was difficult to look beyond the cold, hard, immediate reality: It’s over. (NYI Hockey Now)

The Boston Bruins have begun ticking off their offseason checklist by signing young power forward Trent Frederic. The 23-year-old Frederic finished with four goals and five points in 42 games for the Bruins last season in his first full NHL campaign but didn’t appear in the playoffs while seeming to fall out of favor down the stretch. to a two-year contract for $1.05 million per season. (Boston Hockey Now)

After 20 years and enough diet soda and press box nachos that would kill a lesser man, I should not be surprised, but I am. In a sad and disappointed way, I truly am discouraged by the NHL playoffs and the stubborn, unmovable force that are the plumbers and plugs who have ingrained themselves into running the NHL and controlling the game’s culture. Star players known for grace and skill do not get to direct the NHL game. No, they get less input. Really. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

The Philadelphia Flyers may expose forward Jakub Voracek for the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft. He will be one of the most talented players they can take but does his contract mitigate that possibility? (Philly Hockey Now)

This morning Steve Yzerman’s Detroit Red Wings are, according to CapFriendly.com, $48.1 million under the salary cap and Yzerman’s former team, the Tampa Bay Lightning are $5 million over the cap. But the reason why Yzerman has so much room is that he only has 10 regulars under contract for next season. Only the expansion Seattle Kraken, who don’t have a player yet, have more available cap space. The Buffalo Sabres are only other team with only 10 contracts. But they have only $34.1 million in cap space. (Detroit Hockey Now)

Former Washington Capitals forward Brooks Laich officially announced his retirement Friday. Though he last suited up for the Caps in 2016, he leaves behind a meaningful legacy. (Washington Hockey Now)

I’ll start by ripping off the most painful band-aid: this team isn’t good enough to win the Stanley Cup. There are some real issues for the Vegas Golden Knights to address this summer, namely an offense that blacks out at the worst time, a power play that might be better off declining the penalty, $12M in cap space tied up in goaltending, no number one center and more. (Vegas Hockey Now)

The Montreal Canadiens will play the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final. “They’re going to get the best team they’ve played against so far, and we’re going to get the best team we’ve played against so far,” Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos said. “You don’t get to the finals by luck. Every team that gets there deserves it. They’ve had an unbelievable run. (NHL)

Cole Caufield celebrated the Montreal Canadiens’ first trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 28 years by munching on a slice of pizza supplied by teammate Phillip Danault on Thursday, after the Canadiens eliminated the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals. All the while, Caufield’s long-time critics were eating their words. (NHL)

Brayden Point fell short of an NHL record Friday when the Tampa Bay Lightning forward did not score a goal in a 10th straight Stanley Cup Playoff game. Playing in a 1-0 win against the New York Islanders in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals, Point failed to match Philadelphia Flyers forward Reggie Leach, who scored a goal in 10 straight playoff games in 1976. (NHL)

Nikita Kucherov played for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 1-0 win against the New York Islanders in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals on Friday. The forward sustained an undisclosed injury early in the first period of Game 6 on Wednesday and left the game. The Islanders won 3-2 in overtime to extend the best-of-7 series. (NHL)

The Tampa Bay Lightning touched the Prince of Wales Trophy and are hoping history repeats itself. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly presented the trophy to captain Steven Stamkos following a 1-0 win against the New York Islanders in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals at Amalie Arena in Tampa on Friday. Stamkos picked up the trophy before he and his teammates posed for photos with it. (NHL)