The New York Islanders failures against the Carolina Hurricanes exposed the major gap between a playoff hopeful and a Stanley Cup contender.
The New York Islanders failures against the Carolina Hurricanes exposed the major gap between a playoff hopeful and a Stanley Cup contender.
RALEIGH -- On paper, the New York Islanders were at a major disadvantage heading into their playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes.
It wasn't uncommon for the Islanders to be underdogs, and given that it took an 8-0-1 record for them to sneak into the playoffs, their lack of support amongst the majority of the media was fair.
The series ultimately went as most expected — maybe a game longer — with the Hurricanes beating the Islanders in five games.
What will leave a sour taste in the mouths of Islanders fans is that this series wasn't one where Carolina dominated every second of every game.
The Islanders outplayed the Hurricanes in Game 1, but their lack of finishing proved to be fatal.
Despite being dominated in Game 2, they had a 3-0 lead midway through, but a failure to push back proved fatal in a catastrophic debacle allowing two goals in nine seconds to fall 5-3:
"A lot of you see that game as a heartbreaking loss, but for me, the heartbreaking loss was game number one because that's the game we outplayed them," Roy said between Game 2 and Game 3. "That's the game we played better than what they did. Game number two, they deserved it. They played better than us. Could we have stolen that game? Yeah, that'd be great if we'd done it, but it didn't happen."
Back at UBS Arena in front of their crowd, Game 3 saw the Islanders play a strong game, but Ilya Sorokin's failure to rise to the occasion put the Islanders back against the wall.
Game 4 went the Islanders' way. They recovered after blowing a slim one-goal lead in the third period to win in double overtime thanks to a Robert Bortuzzo shot that banked off Mathew Barzal in front.
Then came Game 5.
It was a horrid start for Roy's squad, going down 2-0 early and then 3-1 before the end of the first. But the resilient Islanders fought back, tying the game at 3-3 before the middle frame came to a close.
However, like in Game 2, the Islanders allowed two goals in short order -- eight seconds -- before Carolina added an empty-netter to take Game 5 by a score of 6-3 and the series four games to one.
"I feel like we deserve a little bit better, and I'm not saying we should have won that series. I'm saying that we could go home right now and play game number six easily, and instead, it's over," Roy said postgame. "It feels empty."
Roy nailed it.
The Islanders were in every game. They had every chance to be leading the series. Despite not facing the Hurricanes' A-game, the Islanders just didn't have enough to overcome their shortcomings.
While we don't know how the Islanders would have fared if they had been matched up with the New York Rangers, it's on them that they drew the Hurricanes, the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season in six games.
The Islanders had the potential to be a team fighting for first in the Metropolitan Division this season. And if they hadn't blown 24 third-period leads and allowed two or more goals in six minutes and under 21 times, that very well could have been a possibility.
But that wasn't reality, and this group's inconsistencies under Lane Lambert and Patrick Roy -- before the nine-game point streak to close out the season -- are why they not only had to face the Hurricanes in the first round of the playoffs but ultimately why they aren't close enough to compete for a Stanley Cup as constructed.
People will say the collective age of the Islanders is what killed them in the series, but that wasn't it.
It was the inability to punch back, get enough from their top players, and ultimately shut the door, things that the Hurricanes were able to get and ultimately do all series long.
That's what separates a playoff hopeful from a Stanley Cup contender.
There are major questions that the organization will have to answer this summer if they want to close that gap, which won't be easy.
No, a full rebuild isn't possible for the fans who are screaming for it.
It's a tough thing to do for many, but you have to be realistic, as retooling is the only real option for this group.
Right now, the team is dealing with an uncertain future with an offseason that could alter the franchise for the better or for the worse.