After the rush of a victory (finally!), a couple of days to build up the dread all over again.
Each playoff series is, well, a series of little game scores that carry varying degrees of meaning, emotion, anxiety and weight in the days between games even though they all ultimately amount to the same thing.
A 2-2 series feels different if you began 0-2 than if you began 2-0, vs. if it went 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, but no matter how you spin the journey, at that point you’ve reduced things to a best of three. And sometimes you can look at how the games were played and put temporary blinders on the series score, like “You know we were lucky to be up 2-0 with how we played those first two games; I feel better about our game now even though we lost Games 3 and 4.” [It’s customary here to insert a “stupid refs” or “tough bounce there” to rationalize your point.]
Somewhat similarly, the 1-3 series hole comes most often when you had a chance to tie it at 2-2 but lost Game 4. Rarer is the time you fell behind 0-3 in a series but refused to throw in the towel when the going got continued to be rough in Game 4. (For a more common outcome, see Capitals vs. REDACTED, 2024 Round 1). But either way, you’ve got to win three in a row.
So do you feel any different with the Islanders getting to 1-3 after being on the verge of a sweep, vs. just missing out on a chance to tie it at 2-2? Is this all just a word salad, needless exercise? (Yes. But you know how these competing thoughts cycle through your head, if you’re the type who suffers through the off days of a playoff series.)
The Islanders feel like they “should have” won a couple of previous games in this series, and then combine those with a 3-0 lead they blew (in a game they didn’t “should have” won except for the fact they had a three-goal lead with just half a game to kill). So maybe we can believe their “one game at a time” talk and think they have every bit of a decent chance to extend the series again with Tuesday’s Game 5 in Raleigh. Certainly they showed that belief in Game 4.
But yeah…there’s nothing to sugar coat here. The order was tall and remains so. Historically speaking, this ain’t gonna happen. But it ain’t over until…
Islanders News
- Semyon Varlamov’s run of form has been a surprise, but crucial. [NHL | AMNY]
- Pumping up Robert Bortuzzo after his penalty cost the Isles, then his point shot helped get them the win after all. [THN]
- Lather, rinse, repeat: Game 4 win gives the Isles a little momentum going into Game 5. [Newsday | Post]
- Best: Barzal’s individual effort on his first goal shows his unique value to the team. [Newsday]
- Who saw that coming? The recently constructed Lee-Pageau-Engvall line has been…”their best”? [Post | Isles]
Elsewhere
- Having swept the Capitals, the REDACTED now await the winner of Islanders vs. Canes. [NHL]
- For the first time in his career, Alex Ovechkin was held pointless in a playoff series. [Sportsnet]
- The Canucks were already without Thatcher Demko, then Casey DeSmith missed Game 4 so they went with their third and fourth stringers. But they rallied to beat the Predators in OT to take a 3-1 lead anyway. [NHL]
- The Kings also made a goalie switch, going with David Rittich over Cam Talbot for Game 4. [TSN]
- Auston Matthews, who left Game 4 with illness, is still uncertain for Game 5. [NHL]
- The Knights-Stars series is a good series to watch for little adjustments. [NHL]
- Facing elimination, the Jets are running out of answers. [Sportsnet]
- Canadian media made a lot of William Nylander telling Mitch Marner to (we think) “stop fucking crying, bro” on the bench, even though it’s the kind of stuff teammates say when needing to dole out tough love. But manufacturing drama and dissension for the Leafs? We’ll allow it. [Leafs Nation] Sheldon Keefe says it’s no big deal and it’s the kind of thing teammates should do (and he’s probably right), but still…we’ll allow it. [TSN | Leafs Hot Stove]
- The NHL Draft Lottery will be held May 7, congratulations to the Blackhawks. [Sportsnet]
- Though he’s a sore loser, Tom Wilson is not Dale Hunter…but there’s still time!
“[Tom Wilson] is an idiot, but you like to have those guys on your team” – @VallysView is my favorite hockey analyst of all time and it’s not even close #NYR pic.twitter.com/dsVfFQhBnO
— Julie Stewart-Binks (@JSB_TV) April 29, 2024