Islanders’ Playing With House Money in Game 7 vs. Lightning
The Islanders have absolutely nothing to lose entering Game 7 with the Lightning.
The Islanders have been written off time and time again this season and postseason. They were never supposed to be one win away from the Stanley Cup Final, and shouldn’t feel the pressure going into Game 7. The Islanders are playing with house money.
A little over a month ago, the Islanders finished the regular season embarrassingly. First, they lost back-to-back games to the worst team in the NHL, the Buffalo Sabres. Then they lost to the third-worst team in the NHL, The New Jersey Devils.
The Anders Lee injury seemed too big of a loss for the Islanders. Additionally, Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac didn’t seem to be panning out as planned. Their depth wasn’t making nearly enough impact as it should’ve.
The Islanders finished the season as the fourth seed. It made sense. Experts believed the Isles’ run in the bubble was a fluke, and it wasn’t their year.
The Islanders faced off in the first round against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Experts favored the Penguins as they won the East Division. In addition, they were coming off a solid regular season, in which they dominated the season series against the Islanders. Despite the Islanders being underdogs, they managed to beat the Penguins in six games. The narrative, however, was that weak goaltending from Penguins’ goaltender Tristan Jarry was the primary reason the Islanders advanced.
The Islanders then faced the Boston Bruins in round two. They were extremely top-heavy but seemed ready to win it all. The Islanders were heavy underdogs against the Boston Bruins. However, after going down 2-1 in the series, the Islanders won three straight games, scoring 15 goals in Games 4, 5 and 6, while only giving up seven. The narrative this time was that an injured Tuuka Rask and a staggered Bruins backend was the primary reason the Islanders advanced.
But the Islanders were among the NHL’s final four for the second straight year. It was also the second straight season in which they would face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Semifinals. The narrative going into the series was that Tampa’s elite goaltending and offensive firepower would be too much for the Islanders.
Looking back to the Islanders’ series last season with the Lighting in the bubble, the Islanders were the only team in the Eastern Conference to push the Lighting to six games. They were a breakaway goal in overtime away from sending the series to Game 7. But, despite allowing eight goals in Game 1 and losing Game 2 in heartbreaking fashion, the Islanders found a way to force Game 6.
The Lightning haven’t played a Game 7 since they lost to Barry Trotz’s Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2018. Additionally, through the first two rounds of the 2021 NHL playoffs, the Lighting had never trailed in a series. The Islanders changed both of those things.
The Islanders have absolutely nothing to lose. So, all the pressure is on the Lighting. The Lightning feel the pressure of defending their title. The Lighting have a stacked roster. They’re the ones defending the Stanley Cup.
The Islanders are the team who lost John Tavares three years ago. The Islanders are the team who lost their captain and former 40-goal scorer in March. The Islanders were supposed to lose in Rounds 1, 2 and now 3. But now, the Islanders are about to play in a Game 7 against the defending champion Lightning.
The worst-case scenario for the Islanders is that they gave the Nassau Coliseum an epic overtime victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning in its final game.
Ethan is an Economics Major at the University of Florida looking to pursue a double major in Sports Management with a minor in political science.
