from Neil Best of Newsday,

The wider world — well, at least the NHL and NBC — surely would have preferred a second-round series featuring Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.

Instead, the world has the Islanders and Hurricanes, who ended the seasons of Crosby’s Penguins and Ovechkin’s Capitals.

Not that there is anything wrong with that. They earned it as two squads that might have limited star power but come armed with devilish defensive schemes and an underdog’s mentality.

What now, though? Someone has to win this series, and after practice on Saturday the Islanders made it clear that someone likely will have to do it the way the Hurricanes did in Game 1.

“They play defensive, we play defensive,” said Jordan Eberle, who saw his goal-a-game playoff run come to an end with the Hurricanes’ 1-0 overtime victory.

“That’s how the games will go: 0-0 with an overtime goal. That’s just how the games have to be won or lost.”

Perhaps, but it says here that for the Islanders to advance they must tap into an offensive reservoir amid their array of talented if not Crosby/Ovechkin-level scorers.

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