Not breaking any news here, but it takes four wins to capture a playoff series – and it doesn't matter which four of the seven you win, as long as you win four.
For the Islanders though, now it's not about winning four games, but just winning one. While they trail the Carolina Hurricanes three games to one, the Isles aren't looking at the big picture – needing to win three games in a row to advance – because with their backs against the wall, the focus is squarely on the task at hand: winning Game 5 on Tuesday night in Carolina.
"The focus is on (Tuesday)," said defenseman Ryan Pulock during media availability at Monday's practice. "We have to find a way to win one game. There's a lot of guys in this locker room that have been in these positions before and you learn things along the way. You just have to bring the right mindset and everyone just has to find another level and be prepared to give our best effort."
Pulock and many of his teammates have been in this situation before, and, in accordance with Islanders playoff tradition, they've been able to win games in recent years when facing elimination.
In 2020, the Islanders beat the Flyers in a Game 7 to win the Eastern Conference semifinals, then extended the Eastern Conference Finals by beating the Lightning in overtime in Game 5. A year later, they again beat the Lightning in OT, this time in Game 6, to extend what was that year the Stanley Cup semifinals.
This season, the Islanders have been in playoff mode for quite some time, and needed a win over the Canadiens in the final game of the regular season to clinch a playoff spot.
There's a reason for the phrase "Never Say Die-Landers."
"Down 3-1, our sole focus is on the next game, and we need to come out with desperation at an all-time high," said Brock Nelson. "Your back is against the wall so we have to come out and just worry about that start in the first period and go from there, and know that on the back side we have to win the game."
To give themselves a better chance to extend the series, the Islanders will have to be better with their special teams. Part of that is doing whatever they can to stay out of the penalty box in a series where there have been some questionable calls on the Islanders and some questionable non-calls on Carolina.
"We believe that we can do this and we know we can do this," said defenseman Sebastian Aho. "We just have to go out and do it. We gotta be more disciplined. We can't take as many penalties as we do. We gotta try and not focus on the ref. I feel like we were maybe a little too focused on being pissed off at them."
"You can't control that stuff but you want to play hard and aggressive," added Nelson. "Some of the penalties you can't argue but playing physical is part of the game and you want to do that."
Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Hurricanes in Game 4 has pushed the Islanders to the brink of elimination, but just as they've done all season long, the Islanders aren't looking back…only ahead.
And that's not going to change.
"Our focus is the next game," said Head Coach Lane Lambert. "That's all we can control so we move on. You can't do anything about the past and you move forward. We just worry about one game."
And that one game is all the Islanders are concerned about. Just go out and win a playoff game on the road, something this group knows how to do, and the reward would be a return home for a Game 6 on Friday night at UBS Arena.
"In the playoffs, you need to win games on the road, and we have a great opportunity," said Pageau. "We win this game and we go from there. That's our main focus: one game at a time like it's been all year long."
"We've been here before on multiple occasions, down the stretch this year and in the past," said Pulock. "There has to be one focus and that focus is on (Tuesday) night, and that's all we can really control right now."
The Islanders have been up and down all season. They've had good stretches and bad stretches, a good game followed by a bad game.
If the good Islanders show up on Tuesday night in Raleigh, there's a pretty good chance that Islanders Country will get to reconvene on Friday night. If not, then a longer than desired off-season will begin with plenty of organizational drama on the horizon.
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