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Playoff Gameday: Trotz Trusts Islanders Will be Ready

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New York Islanders

The New York Islanders didn’t have any hockey related meetings leading up to tonight’s Game 3 with the Philadelphia Flyers. Head coach Barry Trotz told reporters that he trusted in the group that they would be ready for tonight.



The Islanders, along with the rest of the NHL, paused for two days to protest social injustice in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Game 3 of the Islanders-Flyers series was scheduled to Thursday night and this afternoon would have been Game 4.

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“I think we are a group that I have a lot of trust in,” Trotz said this afternoon during a Zoom call with reporters. “I put a lot of trust in our group that they understand the moment. Every moment has a different meaning and tonight the meaning at 7 O’clock will be the hockey moment.”

The players are confident as well that they will be able to switch their focus back onto hockey when the puck drops. The New York Islanders in the past have said they don’t need any extra motivation to be ready for an important game.

“The last couple of days have been great for conversation and reflection, and that’s going to continue,” Cal Clutterbuck said. “The focus for us right now is on the Philadelphia Flyers tonight.”

The Islanders and Flyers are tied at 1-1 in the best-of-seven series. New York drooped the second game of the series after rallying from a 3-0 hole. They ultimately lost in overtime, 4-3.

Semyon Varlamov allowed three goals in the first period and was pulled after 15:09 of work. Thomas Greiss played the rest of the way and only allowed one goal in relief and made 20 saves.

Trots didn’t indicate who would be in net tonight, but did suggest both netminders could get work with back-to-back games on the docket.

“Any decision I make at the goaltending I feel pretty comfortable all the time,” Trotz said. “Both our goaltenders are experienced and great pros. They’re able to not look at what happened last game. They just look and prepare for the game ahead. Both of them are very supportive. And we have a back to back so we may see both of them.”

Game Notes

Anthony Beauvillier became the first Islander to reach seven goals in the playoffs for the first time since 1993. Ray Ferraro scored 13 that year and Steve Thomas had nine. … Wednesday’s game was the first postseason overtime between the Islanders and Flyers since the 1980 Stanley Cup Final. Bob Nystrom scored 7:11 into overtime to secure the Islanders’ first Stanley Cup. … Mat Barzal has a two-game point streak (two assists) entering tonight’s game. He has four points (two goals, two assists). … The Philadelphia Flyers are 16-20 in Game 3 of a seven-game series when the series is tied 1-1. They are 35-37 all-time the third game fo a series. … Jakub Voracek leads the Flyers in goals with four. … Phil Myers was just the seventh defenseman in Flyers history to score an overtime winner in the playoffs.

How to Watch

Locally the game will air on NBCSN and available to stream on NHL.TV outside of the New York market. On the radio dial, the game will air on 98.7 FM ESPN New York, 88.7 FM WRHU and 103.9 FM LI News Radio

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