Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

The New York Islanders Were Close

06/26/2021 at 9:29am EDT

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

They took the semifinals and the defending champs to the limit, to Game 7, to the final frenzied minute, in which the Islanders swarmed around and in front of Andrei Vasilevskiy’s net, desperately looking for the puck and the bounce that could extend their magic carpet ride into one more overtime.

But the puck never came, neither did the bounce, nor did the goal. For the second straight season, a loss in the semifinals. For the second straight season, a loss to the Lightning. For the second straight year, heartache on the Island.

It was 1-0 in this Game 7, perhaps the cruelest score of all, which was manufactured in the cruelest way imaginable. Because it was a Yanni Gourde shorthanded goal in the second minute of the second period that did the Islanders dirty, Tampa Bay exploiting their one significant weakness.

That weakness? The Islanders’ power play, which went 1-for-17 in the series and thus finished the seven-game joust no more than even for its 24:15 of work. It always finds you, doesn’t it?

Of course, the Islanders should be proud of themselves.

continued

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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