Around this time last year, the Islanders were headed home after an overtime loss in game six to Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference Finals. This year, New York pushed it to a game seven, but once again came up just short to a Lightning team that will now make its bid for a second straight Stanley Cup.
As the Islanders again failed to get past Tampa Bay, the team must ask itself what separates the two, and what will it take to get New York over the hump and evolve from a contender into a champion.
"That's a tough one…we're built a little differently," head coach Barry Trotz said. "They have some elite goal scorers. We're built a little differently, but obviously we've taken them to the brink both times."
The Islanders couldn't get much closer than they did in this series, trailing by just one goal on the road in the third period of game seven, but the Lightning flexed their elite defense by holding New York to just 18 shots on goal in game seven, even when their typically overwhelming scoring attack wasn't getting anything past Semyon Varlamov at even strength.
The one goal was all the Lightning needed, as goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy pitched a shutout in a series-clinching game for the fourth time in a row, setting an NHL record.
It was the product of a team that is loaded with difference-makers at both ends of the ice, something the Islanders have had an up-close look at for the past two years.
"They've got all the pieces," Trotz said. "They've got an All-Star goalie, their defense is led by Hedman…and their forward lines…they've got elite goal scorers with [Nikita] Kucherov and [Steven] Stamkos, and for the life of me I can't understand why people don't talk about Brayden Point as an elite center. I've known that for a few years.
"They're set up well. They're a fantastic team…that's why they're Stanley Cup champions. You need a break here and there to get by this team, but we're chipping away at it and we're getting closer, but hopefully we can break through."
Trotz would have liked his team's chances even more if his captain Anders Lee was available for the series, but he missed the postseason after undergoing ACL surgery in March. It may or may not have been the difference in a seven-game series that came down to one goal.
"I think he would have been a huge factor in this series and around the net," Trotz said.
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