Daily Links
NYHN Daily: Islanders Send the Penguins Home & More
The New York Islanders are headed to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third-straight season as they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. Brock Nelson led the way with a three-point night to help his team clinch the series. It was a raucous second period and a strong showing by the second line that catapulted the Islanders to the win. These stories and more in today’s daily links!
Brocktober traditionally isn’t for another couple of months, but the New York Islanders forward came up clutch when it counted on Wednesday night. Brock Nelson had a three-point night, including a two-goal second period, that helped the Islanders defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 and clinched the First Round Series in six games. Wednesday marked the first time that the Islanders had clinched a series win on Nassau Coliseum ice since 1993. (NYI Hockey Now)
Back and forth they went until the New York Islanders took a stranglehold on the game in the second period. With three goals in the middle frame — two coming from Brock Nelson — the Islanders skated to a 5-3 win and moved past the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They’ll next take on the Boston Bruins in the second round, but first, let’s take a look back at was another eventful playoff game at Nassau Coliseum. (NYI Hockey Now)
The success story is the team, not the arena. Yet the Islanders and Nassau Coliseum are forever intertwined, even in the venerable barn’s waning days as an NHL facility. But the Coliseum is not done hosting playoff games yet after the Islanders clinched a playoff series in the building for the first time in 28 years. They rallied three times from one-goal deficits and scored three second-period goals in a span of two minutes, 59 seconds to outlast the Penguins and shaky goalie Tristan Jarry, 5-3, in Game 6 of their first-round series on Wednesday night before a sell-out crowd of 9,000 in a party-like atmosphere. (Newsday)
They chanted Ilya Sorokin’s name and taunted Tristan Jarry. They sang “Happy Birthday” to Mathew Barzal and sang the Josh Bailey song to Josh Bailey. They chanted, “We want Boston!” They gave Ralph Macchio a standing ovation. Of course, they yelled, “Let’s go Islanders!” Mostly, though, they partied like it was 1993. (Newsday)
Brock Nelson had two goals and an assist, and the New York Islanders eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 5-3 win in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup First Round at Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday. “This group always sticks with it,” Nelson said. “The fans gave us a boost, they were fired up today. They were rowdy, they were loud. … Once we got the lead, they were loud through the end. It’s awesome having them back. We just wanted to get that one in front of them.” (NHL)
The Islanders somehow managed to dispatch the Penguins in six games while being outplayed for about 4 1/2 of them. Barry Trotz refers to the Islander Way a lot, and this was the way for them in the opening round: Start slow, hang around and capitalize on an error here or there. Usually from Tristan Jarry, to whom the Islanders owe a dinner or a case of Natty Light or something. Let’s look at how the Islanders got through to the second round. (The Athletic)
There aren’t many ways to sugarcoat the Pittsburgh Penguins situation. There just aren’t. The Pittsburgh Penguins outplayed the New York Islanders for much of their Round One series. Unlike 2019 when the Penguins flailed and thrashed about in futile attempts, they controlled this series against the New York Islanders, but goalie Tristan Jarry buckled under the bright lights of the NHL playoffs. The Penguins controlled play for a majority of the series, yet they still lost. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)
With the New York Islanders taking care of business against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a raucous Nassau Coliseum, the Boston Bruins now know in the second round they will face a team in the Isles that gave them a pretty hard time during the regular season. (Boston Hockey Now)
Before Game 6 began on Wednesday night, the large scoreboard at Amalie Arena had a message from the Tampa Bay Lightning to Florida Panthers: ‘It’s time to end them.’ Andrei Vasilevskiy took said message to heart. The Tampa Bay goalie was superb on Wednesday night, throwing back everything he saw he made 29 saves to beat the Panthers and send them packing for the summer with a 4-0 victory. (Florida Hockey Now)
The Vegas Golden Knights find themselves heading home and facing elimination in the first round of the NHL Playoffs after a 3-0 shutout loss to the Minnesota Wild in Game Six Wednesday night. It was a terribly disappointing result for the Golden Knights in many ways, but most importantly after leading the series three games to one Vegas now finds itself facing elimination back at T-Mobile Arena on Friday night. It also saw the Golden Knights enter the third period in a scoreless tie only to give up three goals against to the Wild. (Vegas Hockey Now)
If the NHL has its way, Nazem Kadri will miss six straight additional playoff games for the Colorado Avalanche. If Kadri has his way, that sentence will be shortened on appeal. On Thursday via Zoom, the appeal process will begin. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will hear the appeal of Kadri that his eight-game suspension for his Game 2 hit to the head of St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk was too severe. (Colorado Hockey Now)
Coming off their worst season since 1992-93, the San Jose Sharks entered the summer of 1996 in unfamiliar territory. New general manager Dean Lombardi, though, was committed to turning the Sharks into a championship contender. It was a long-term plan, however — and one of Lombardi’s first steps was to sign veterans to guide his young talent, veterans like Ron Sutter. In this installment of my “30 Sharks” series for San Jose Hockey Now, I speak with Sutter about helping make the rebuilding Sharks a tight-knit group playing for his brother Darryl. (San Jose Hockey Now)
Sidney Crosby didn’t want to discuss the possible end of an era for the Pittsburgh Penguins after they were eliminated with a 5-3 loss to the New York Islanders in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup First Round at Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday. It’s a debate Crosby has heard many times before, about whether Pittsburgh should move on from its core of him, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. (NHL)
Wayne Gretzky reached a multiyear agreement Wednesday to join Turner Sports as an NHL studio analyst beginning next season. “I’ve long admired Turner Sports’ coverage of the NBA, among other sports, and I’m thrilled to be joining the studio team in their inaugural NHL season,” Gretzky said. “This is an exciting opportunity to share my experiences and perspectives on the game I will always cherish, while hopefully informing and entertaining fans along the way.” (NHL)
The Boston Bruins will play the New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup Second Round. Boston, the No. 3 seed in the MassMutual East Division, defeated the No. 2 seed Washington Capitals in five games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. New York, the No. 4 seed, eliminated the No. 1 seed Pittsburgh Penguins with a 5-3 win in Game 6 of that best-of-7 series on Wednesday. (NHL)
Aleksander Barkov’s disappointment was obvious. So was his optimism. It was a striking contrast of emotions the Florida Panthers captain felt and talked about following a season-ending 4-0 loss in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup First Round at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday. The contrast told the story of the Panthers season. It might have also foreshadowed their future. (NHL)
John Tavares visited the Toronto Maple Leafs at their practice complex Wednesday, one day ahead of their chance to eliminate the Montreal Canadiens from the Stanley Cup First Round in Game 5 on Thursday. The Maple Leafs lead the best-of-7 series, winning three in a row after the center sustained a concussion and knee injury in Game 1 on May 20. Coach Sheldon Keefe said Tavares is doing “very well,” and though no further details were provided about his recovery, the fact he was able to leave home is encouraging. (NHL)
William Nylander is tired of painful playoff losses. The Maple Leafs winger has been through three first-round postseason exits and one qualifying-round loss in his NHL career so far, feeling the sting of disappointment increase each time. Nylander has channeled that past frustration into a sensational start to the Leafs’ first-round matchup against Montreal. Toronto leads the series three games to one, and Nylander leads all Leafs with four goals. He and linemate Alex Kerfoot also share the team lead with five points each. (TSN)
St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said Wednesday he believes the team’s Stanley Cup window is still open, despite a second straight early exit from the postseason. The Blues were swept in four games by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of this year’s playoffs, after being eliminated in six games in the opening round by the Vancouver Canucks last year. (TSN)