from Scott Burnside of ESPN,

We toss around words like "redemption" and "breakthrough" and "leadership" so often, it's possible their real meanings get dulled, washed out a bit.

And then there are moments like Sunday night when John Tavares embodies all of them in, hauling his New York Islanders to a place it has not been since the captain was a 2-year-old toddler.

When Tavares circled the Florida Panthers net and tucked home the game winner 10 minutes, 41 seconds into the second overtime period to send the Islanders to the second round for the first time since 1993, it was as though the slate had been wiped clear for an entire franchise and its long-suffering fan base.

"First and foremost, I think our fan base, they've been dying for it, obviously," Tavares said in the Islanders' strangely muted locker room considering the great weight that had been figuratively lifted from their collective shoulders.

In some ways, his performance and the win for the team wiped the slate clean for Tavares, who had an up-and-down season but who might be the best player on the planet right now.

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added 8:02am, Christine Simpson of Sportsnet talked with Tavares post-game, watch below...