Islanders Looking to Benefit From Past Playoff Experience

In each season since New York Islanders President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello and Head Coach Barry Trotz took over back in 2018, the Islanders have continued to evolve and mature, especially when the utmost is at stake.
With lessons learned from 2019's second-round appearance and last year's run to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final, the Islanders are hoping to leverage insight from those experiences as they enter their third-straight postseason with a First-Round matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"Last year gives you a taste of how hard it can be, it gives you a taste of how fun it can be," Cal Clutterbuck said. "Last year's experience was - in my 13 or 14 years - was more than I've ever experienced. When you become close like that and you realize that you have the guys in the room to get it done, it changes your perception of the playoffs. It changes your perception of how hard it's going to be. You know it's going to be hard, but you know that if you go out there and do your job and play the way that you know how to play, you give yourself a chance to actually do it. That creates a fire in guys when you know you've got the team to do it and all you have to do is just go out there and do it and you give yourself a chance, that's what 's exciting."

While the last time the Islanders and Penguins met in the postseason was only two years ago in the First Round - where the Islanders cleanly swept the series 4-0 - it justifiably, feels like 'a different decade' ago according to Trotz.
Factor in a global pandemic that altered daily norms and society around the globe beginning last March, followed by the Islanders' Eastern Conference Finals berth last September in the 'bubble'. Throw in this year's torpedo of a regular season which featured a 56-game slate of division-only competition over the span of five months, Trotz' hyperbole doesn't seem that overly exaggerated.
But the Islanders, who finished in fourth place in the East Division, know this year's series against Pittsburgh is going to be a furious duel especially after finishing the regular season 2-4-2 to the Pens.
"Playoff hockey, it's a grind. There's no space, so you've got to fight for your inches and all that," Trotz said. "Having some success definitely reinforces it and gives you the confidence that you know you can do it and gives you the confidence that you know it works. Every year is a different challenge. It's positive reinforcement. It's reassuring that you know the series is not going to be won or lost in the first game. Things are going to change. Momentum in the series is going to change 100 times. They're going to be close games so don't get uncomfortable with that. All of those things are good, that's the experience factor."

For a host of Islanders, 30 playoff games in the past two seasons has provided plenty of experience. And while the Islanders can - and certainly hope to - benefit from their past playoffs experiences, the group is concentrating its focus on themselves and the aspects that are within their control.
"It's about what we do," Adam Pelech said. "We'll prepare for tendencies and stuff of teams that we're facing, but at the end of the day, it's about what we do. We know that if we play our game and do what makes us successful then, we have a good chance against anyone."
For the Islanders, who are comprised of a balanced mix of seasoned veterans like Clutterbuck with young up-and-comers like rookies Oliver Wahlstrom and Ilya Sorokin, they know these chances to battle for the ultimate prize are hard to come by. Furthermore, they know these moments where they're battle tested to the extreme are what will bond their 'brotherhood' for years to come.
"You talk to any player or coach and they'll tell you, 'You remember all the playoffs.'" Trotz said. "[They say] 'You can hardly remember some of the regular season games. You'll probably remember the things you did with the guys on the road or whatever, than the actual games. But playoffs, you'll remember the games.' Those moments, those overtime wins, those big goals, the crowd, the emotion. You get marked up in a playoffs series and you don't feel the pain. Those types of series, those types of moments, those types of situations that's what makes playoffs fun for competitive people."