The Islanders knew what the rest of postseason picture looked like, and that’s part of what made getting swept by the Hurricanes in the second round so difficult to swallow.
The Eastern Conference lost its two top seeds in the first round, with the Lightning and Capitals both falling. If the Islanders had beaten Carolina, they would have moved on to the conference final to play the winner of the Blue Jackets and Bruins. Instead, the Hurricanes are the current favorite to win the Stanley Cup, pending other second-round outcomes.
Boston would likely become the favorite if they advance, but the Bruins are in a dogfight of a series in which they lead 3-2 over John Tortorella’s Columbus club.
Out west, the top-seeded Flames were bounced in the first round, as were the division-winning Predators. If there was a year for an unheralded team like the Islanders to make a run, this was it. Now that team is the Hurricanes.
“Great group of guys in here and I felt like things were lining up for us pretty well,” 21-year-old Mat Barzal said. “Definitely thought we had the group to do it in here, go all the way.”
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Barzal, the reigning Calder Trophy winner, seemed to relish the postseason spotlight, putting up two goals and seven points in the eight games. He often spoke about just wanting to get into the playoffs, and when he was there, his competitiveness reached another level.
“Being a young guy, sometimes you’re not going to win right away. You have to taste what it feels like to lose,” he said. “Have to remember this feeling and know how bad you really want it. That can go a long way, in my career especially, and everyone else here. Got a taste of the playoffs, and I definitely want to be back here soon.I just love the intensity of the playoffs. “Losing in the second round ended up really hurting right now. It’s going to help in the future, just knowing what this feeling feels like .”
The Islanders will have break-up day Monday on Long Island.
There is likely going to be a lot of roster turnover this summer, with the pending unrestricted free agents Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Jordan Eberle, Valtteri Filppula and Robin Lehner.
But Coach Barry Trotz was happy with the progress the organization made in his first year behind the bench, establishing a new culture that he hopes will sustain no matter who is on the team at the start of next season.
“It’s disappointing we didn’t go further, but you have start somewhere,” Trotz said. “The first place was make the playoffs, be competitive, come around culturally as a team — and [be] a team that has expectations that when you drop the puck you’re going to win hockey games.This team had a lot of belief in winning hockey games all year.”