12/30/2023 0 Comments Islanders lightning![]() ![]() If it is true that the Lightning represent a step up in class for the Islanders, the inverse is equally true, if not quite equally apparent. Rangers' Alexis Lafreniere’s path to stardom has hit some road bumps Money-strapped Rangers can’t do much but lock in free agents Rangers banking on aging veterans in young man's league It’s only going to get tougher as we move on here to the semifinals.Yankees need more games like this from their veteransīlake Wheeler is rare Rangers free agency bargain: 'Wants to win the Cup' Nothing has been easy for us in either series that we’ve played. “I’ve always believed that to win in the playoffs as you go along, you have to keep getting better,” McCrimmon said. Now to see if the franchise in its fourth year of existence can hold off a challenge from an organization with 24 Stanley Cup titles to get to the final. 1 seed by virtue of finishing with the most points and are battle-tested after needing seven games to knock off Minnesota and gutting through a tough second-round series against Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado. Vegas goes into the semis as the favorite. “We knew if we got to this point we were going to have to face a team that we hadn’t played in the regular season.” “Maybe you wish you had played them a little more recently, but at the end of the day, this is the situation we’ve been dealt,“ Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. But each team also knows there are some differences masked by not being on the ice together since September. ![]() The Islanders remember how tremendous Kucherov can be, and Tampa Bay now has captain Steven Stamkos playing too. “He’s a tremendous hockey player,” Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello said. Kucherov leads all scorers with 18 points through two rounds of the playoffs. The Lightning are having fun with 2019 MVP Nikita Kucherov back after missing the regular season recovering from hip surgery. “I think you look at our two teams and there’s four lines on both sides, six D, and two great world-class goalies are going to go battle head-to-head,” Perry said. Perry said watching games in other divisions helps get past the uncertainty. Vegas center Mattias Janmark and Montreal winger Corey Perry are back in the third round after going on a run to the final with Dallas. With the Lightning, Islanders and Golden Knights in the semifinals again, the NHL has three of the same teams in the final four for the first time since 19. Tampa Bay won that series last fall before beating Dallas and hoisting the Stanley Cup. “Most of our players played in that series, so they understand when we’re talking about certain trends or the way they play.” “It helps a little bit,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. The Lightning and Islanders grinded out a six-game series nine months ago in the postseason bubble in Edmonton, Alberta, so there will be some familiarity when the puck drops Sunday afternoon in Tampa. If Montreal-Vegas, which begins Monday night, goes the distance, the teams will face off more times during one playoff series than they have all-time in the regular season, because the Golden Knights began playing in 2017. “Different style of play or different teams that you play often, but that’s part of the challenge for everyone right now.” “Different season for everyone,” Canadiens coach Dominique Ducharme said. Players and coaches from these teams haven’t thought much about each other all season, let alone scout or prepare for them. New York emerged from the East, Tampa Bay the Central, Vegas the West and Montreal the North. It allowed all 31 teams to complete a condensed, 56-game schedule with 16 making the playoffs. The league that has emphasized rivalries for decades limited play within four remade divisions for one season only because of the pandemic. ![]() “Now with the Islanders and Tampa Bay, our own series with Montreal, it’s brand new. “It’s such a different series in terms of the preparation,” Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. The New York Islanders face the Tampa Bay Lightning in one semifinal that’s a rematch of the 2020 Eastern Conference final, while the Vegas Golden Knights play the Montreal Canadiens in a playoff series for the first time.Īfter so much familiarity from seeing the same teams over and over, the final two rounds with the Stanley Cup on the line bring every element of the unknown. (AP) - If the teams left in the NHL playoffs are sick and tired of facing the same opponents over and over, they are in luck in the semifinals.Īfter exclusively divisional play this season and through the first two rounds, the hockey playoffs are down to a final four of teams that haven’t played each other all year. ![]()
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