Islanders & NHL Playoff News: Trotz flirtations, Panthers on the brink

2 years ago  /  Lighthouse Hockey

It’s generally frowned on to do that to goalies. | Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images


Everybody wants to talk to Barry. It was a busy playoff weekend in the NHL, with three games stacked on Sunday after the Avalanche took a 2-1 series lead over the Blues in the lone game Saturday.
Watching the action, it’s hard to picture the current Islanders thriving in this setting — but then that’s often how it feels when the team is on the outside looking in.
Islanders Semi-News

All in all, it was a crappy season! But we have a new arena, and there were some excellent photos. [Isles]
The latest on Barry Trotz: Lots of teams expressing interest. He’ll meet with the Flyers, while Vegas and Detroit are expected to interview him. [32 Thoughts segment]
In shocking and even outraging some fans, New York fan reaction to the firing of Barry Trotz is an outlier among the usual “good riddance” drill. [Post]
The latest Weird Islanders podcast goes into some reluctant Europeans, a couple of whom became fan favorites. [LHH]

Playoffs

Was really hoping for an epic Battle of Florida but once again the Panthers are not up to the task, and could be swept tonight. Chalk it up to the experience thing. [TSN]
With a chance to go up 3-0, the Hurricanes lost Game 3 of their series to some team. [NHL]
The Flames came out flat while Connor McDavid did Connor McDavid things, so Edmonton leads that series 2-1. [TSN]
One of those things was setting up a hat trick for Evander Kane, the controversial Sharks outcast whom the Oilers just love. His coach says he has “good habits” (presumably away from the casino). [NHL]
Mike Smith likes to play the puck behind the net and shield it with his body and Milan Lucic likes to not care. This hit (maybe Lucic was thinking he could ignite a comeback like Geoff Courtnall?) earned Lucic a five-minute major:



Milan Lucic was given a five minute major along with a game misconduct for this incident.Mike Smith left the game for concussion protocol but quickly returned in the third period. pic.twitter.com/6Ym9mVemy8— ESPN (@espn) May 23, 2022




In a shocker, the Oilers and Flames have different views on the incident. [Sportsnet]
The Blues announced Jordan Binnington will miss the rest of the series after he was crashed into by Calle Rosen and Nazem Kadri. (The Blues and Avalanche of course see that incident differently, too.) [TSN]
The Avalanche announced Sam Girard is done with a broken sternum after a crushing check from Ivan Barbashev. That means...Jack Johnson rides again! [TSN]
A sign of things to come? Top offenses have continued to thrive in the playoffs. [TSN]
Rick Bowness has stepped down as coach of the Stars, but he’s not retiring. His assistants were fired. [NHL]
The Penguins have signed Bryan Rust to a six-year contract. [Pensburgh]
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