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#Barry Trotz: Islanders need to be their best to eliminate Panthers

#Barry Trotz: Islanders need to be their best to eliminate Panthers

August 6, 2020 | 10:39pm

Islanders coach Barry Trotz wants his players to accept that Friday’s Game 4 is going to be the toughest of the series.

Since the opportunity to complete the best-of-five series sweep over the Florida Panthers slipped through their fingers Wednesday following convincing wins in Games 1 and 2, the Islanders are putting it on themselves to finish the job.

But Trotz said he believes that won’t be possible unless they embrace the difficulty of the task in front of them.

“You have to have the acceptance that it is going to be a hard game,” Trotz said on a Zoom call Thursday, which was an off day for the team. “You can’t look to play around this game, you have to play through this game. You’re going to get the best of Florida and therefore to beat a good Florida team, you’re going to need your best. You have to accept it.

“When you look for the easy game on a close out, you’re not going to get it. And if you do, it’s rare and seldom. But you just got to accept that it is going to be an extremely hard game [Friday], and I mean extremely hard because those close-out games are the toughest. Once you accept it, then you can play through it. If you’re unwilling to accept it, then you won’t have a chance to win.”

Anders Lee checks the Panthers' Brett Connolly during the Islanders' Game 3 loss.
Anders Lee checks the Panthers’ Brett Connolly during the Islanders’ Game 3 loss.Getty Images

The Islanders were prepared for the Panthers to bring something extra to Game 3, but it was still a 1-1 game heading into the final 20 minutes. It wasn’t until self-inflicted mistakes unraveled the Islanders and allowed Florida to prolong its season for at least one more game.

That’s the lone advantage that comes with facing elimination: It’s just that much easier to capitalize on your opponent’s mistakes. Whether it’s because there’s a just-go-for-it attitude when your season is on the line or the fact that the nothing-to-lose momentum never fails, the Islanders know it’s easier to be where the Panthers are sitting right now.

“If you’re on the end where you’re one game from being eliminated, I think a lot of pressure is off you,” Nick Leddy said. “I think you can go and play. On the other end, it’s a lot harder. I just remember through the years that those were the hardest games, to close a team out. They’re kind of playing stress-free.”

The major positive to take away from Wednesday’s 3-2 loss is that most of what cost the Islanders the game were things they have control over. According to Trotz, it’s much easier to work through those adjustments than a breakdown in their systems and structures.

Even though the Islanders didn’t skate Thursday, the team was still scheduled to review film of Game 3. The off day in between games makes sense, considering Trotz is seemingly aiming to work on his team’s mentality rather than the specifics in its play.

“Playoff hockey is a game of inches, it’s a game of breaks, it’s a game of execution, failed execution,” he said. “Big save here, a lucky bounce there and it can change the whole complexion of a series.”

Trotz said that the best mentality the Islanders can have going is to stay in the moment and to “play through every moment like it’s your last moment.”

“The hardest game to win in a series is the knock-out game,” Trotz said. “Anytime that you have your back against the wall, you’re fighting, giving it all, and you’re going to have that even if you don’t have your backs against the wall. You have to have that killer instinct.

“Hopefully we have that [Friday] and you know that Florida is going to have their best game. So we’ve got to bring our best game.”

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