The New York Islanders’ season is officially over as they dropped Game 5 to the Canes in Raleigh, NC on Tuesday. Tied at 3 after two periods, the Isles allowed two goals in 8 seconds, less than 5 minutes into the third. The final score would be 6-3 after an empty-netter from Seth Jarvis.
This was the second major blown lead in this series, but the trend began many moons ago during the regular season. It was the theme of the entire 2023-24 effort, and ending it like that is gut-wrenching. Nonetheless, a lot of the series saw the Isles battling hard. Even if they were completely outmatched in talent, they kept after it in a series no one gave them credit for being in. Unfortunately, that is over-shadowed by the epic collapses. Game 2’s second and third period may have been the worst Islanders hockey in years.
There were some bright spots to look back on this series, at least. Kyle MacLean took a major step toward solidifying his spot in the lineup with his first playoff goal and a tilt with Stefan Noesen. Ryan Pulock became the hits leader in the playoffsfor an Isles defenseman – 190 hits in 66 games (2.9 per game).
A lot of credit goes to Semyon Varlamov for standing in there through a long few games against consistent offensive pressure. He gave us more hope than anyone in this series. He would finish with .914 SV% and 2.70 GAA in 5 games.
Lou Lamoriello now has the most post-season games as a GM in NHL history (325), as well as the second most post-season wins (172), behind Glen Sather (187). Shout out to him and all the goons behind the scenes, as well as the broadcast crew for a great job. Never change, Butch.
Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin, the Islanders’ own bash bros, have possibly played their last games as New York Islanders. The two fourth-line legends have been a pleasure to watch skate for this team for so long, but their style takes a toll on the body. Martin leads the active roster in playoff games for the Islanders, with Clutter at fourth on that list (82 and 76 games respectively). They are both unrestricted free agents this summer, but both have expressed interest in returning next season.
Last thoughts on the series, I have to address the low-class response from Canes fans and social media team, which appears to be run by a 16-yr old girl. The Hurricanes new “girl boss” attitude is supplemented by these cringe “CRY” t-shirts. They are supposed to be a knock on the Islanders calling out their diving and whining all series, but the Canes did, in fact, dive and whine all series despite not really needing to. Then the NC governor chose to chime in at no one’s request, thanking us for yet another warm-up series…hard to counter that one. F*** your diet soda, governor!
It’s just a lot of gloating for a team that hasn’t won anything more than the Islanders in the last 18 years. They got swept last year, too (unless you asked Rod Brind’amour). No one on Planet Earth was convinced the Islanders were going to pull off the series win, and any of the times we’ve played them they were the easy favorites. All I ask is that they stop making it so hard to cheer for them against the Rangers on Sunday – It wasn’t all that impressive of a series against us and the Hurricanes need to be prepared to face the President’s Trophy winners. Both fanbases seem to be convinced they’ve already won the Cup, but I’m excited to see who will make it out of that battle en route to the Eastern Conference Finals (go Atlantic Division).
Looking Forward
This season made it clear that this roster needs a lot of attention from the front office. Sorokin had an off year, but that shouldn’t send our team into a season-long funk. He will be back with a vengeance after being pulled last week. But the Isles are far too slow as a whole and need to freshen up the lineup with speed. Guys like MacLean and Mike Reilly have been fun to watch, and I’m in favor of trying to keep them around. Reilly is an unrestricted free agent, while MacLean is a restricted free agent. Other notable UFAs include Robert Bortuzzo and Sebastian Aho. Bortuzzo would be better for veteran experience and toughness, but Aho is a lot quicker.
Lack of scoring killed the Islanders in the playoffs, and often before that. When Bo and Barzy aren’t going, this team can shut down, but credit goes to Nelson and Palmieri for stepping up at times and having 30+ goal seasons (34 and 30). However, the overall team effort was average despite big seasons from a handful of guys. There were a lot of games where the loss came down to not being able to score. Nelson and Palmieri both have one year left on their contract, and Nelson at least could become a trade option. In addition to those two, Noah Dobson, Hudson Fasching, Sam Bolduc, and Alex Romanov have one more year left as of now.
The RFAs outside of MacLean are Wahlstrom, Holmstrom, and Iskhakov. Holmstrom has had the most effect in the lineup so far, and in my opinion has pushed Wally out of his spot. It may be time to sever the ties with the young forward, as nothing has seemed to work out consistently here when he is healthy. Perhaps Coach Roy can get more out of him, though. Iskhakov had been rumored to be considering the KHL a few months ago, but his agent has confirmed the interest in making the NHL. He hasn’t had much NHL time, however, save this recent playoff series, but his AHL stint consists of two All-Star games and 30 goals – 55 assists – 85 points in 113 games.
Scott Mayfield revealed that he injured his ankle in the first game of the season, but was never able to fully recover before his eventual departure from the lineup in February. He is expected to be at training camp this fall. A healthy Mayfield could add value back to our defense, especially if he stays out of the box.
Lou Lamoriello confirmed that he and Coach Roy will return next season, as expected. Lou has been under fire over the last few years for some of his signings, but it is important to remember how long we had plateaued before him and Trotz joined forces here. They rescued us from mediocrity, but the mediocrity returned when Trotz got fired. Lane lasted too long and shouldn’t have been asked to get so much out of this roster, but Roy seems to have a better energy for the team.
It may be an interesting summer. Wed don’t know what team we will start the 24/25 season with, but it can hopefully get off to a better start than last year. I’m still proud of the Islanders for pulling it off at the end and making the playoff push. I look forward to Roy’s first training camp on the Island.
Cover Photo – AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker
The Morning Skate 