from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,
Only eight teams have a shot at winning the 2016 Stanley Cup and the Islanders are one of them. The Blackhawks are out, so are the Kings and so are the Rangers, those three teams that combined to produce an aggregate 28 series victories the previous four springs.
But the Islanders are not only in Round 2, they’re tied 1-1 with the defending Eastern Conference champion Lightning entering Tuesday’s Game 3 in Brooklyn following an opening split in Tampa Bay. Win this series and the Islanders are Early Bird Special champs … but that’s not quite the title this group is seeking.
“We have to understand what’s at stake,” said Matt Martin. “We have to understand that with eight teams left, we have to find another level.”
The Islanders chased away the ghosts of ’93 after chasing the Panthers on the scoreboard for most of the six-game, first-round matchup. Indeed, the Islanders played with a lead for just 45:55 of the series’ 559:12.
But chasing the Florida seniors was less of a task than chasing Tampa Bay’s Triplets, who sliced and diced the Rangers in last year’s conference finals. The Islanders are going to need to throw a much better brand of hockey onto the ice at Barclays than they did over the first two games in order to win three more.
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