Last season, the New York Islanders fell two wins short of reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1984, as the Tampa Bay Lightning clinched the East Final in six games and went on to be crowned champions.
Soon, the two teams will once again face off with a trip to the Cup Final at stake. But is history bound to repeat itself? Don't count on it, according to Islanders veteran winger Matt Martin. The Lightning aren't led by Barry Trotz, whom Martin believes is the best coach in hockey.
"The way [Trotz] handles situations, whether we win or lose, he keeps our mindset in the right place," Martin told The Zach Gelb Show on Thursday. "Between him and [general manager] Lou Lamoriello, you have a ton of experience, and both of them have won Cups. I think we really rely on their message, and they try to keep us level-headed, at the end of the day. And our mindset, whether it's a win or loss, it's all about looking forward to the next game and staying the course to race to four wins each series.
"He's always been pretty good at delivering that message to us. He's a players' coach as well, so guys love to go out there and play hard for him. And at the end of the day, it's a team mentality. Everyone throughout our lineup is important, and everyone's got an important role. So, it's built great team chemistry, and obviously, we're happy to have him here."
According to the William Hill Sportsbook, the Lightning, which finished the truncated season with 75 points, are listed as the series favorite (-270).
Although the Islanders haven't played like an underdog -- they currently lead the Stanley Cup playoffs with 43 goals scored through 12 games -- Martin and his teammates don't concern themselves with the odds.
"We've had some pretty good success in the playoffs over the last few years, and I don't know if we've been a favorite in any of the series we've won. So, we've gotten used to [being disrespected]," Martin said. "We have a ton of confidence inside our dressing room and in each and every individual in there. Tampa Bay deserves the credit -- they are the Stanley Cup champs... We know how good of a team they are. We played against them last year.
"We've got to bring our best. We believe we're a really good hockey team. We want to win a Stanley Cup, and that's the goal, at the end of the day. All the outside noise never mattered to us. We're just going to go about our business, and the end goal is to win a Cup. And that's what we're after."
Game 1 of the best-of-seven series will take place in Tampa at Amalie Arena, with the full schedule yet to be released.
The entire conversation between Martin and Gelb can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.