#Islanders get change of scenery with new hotel

“#Islanders get change of scenery with new hotel”

August 22, 2020 | 11:05pm

The Islanders were the last team standing at the Royal York hotel in Toronto.

Saturday, they got a change of scenery as they joined the rest of the Eastern Conference’s surviving playoff teams at Hotel X.

“We’ve seen quite a few teams heading out, so we’re happy to still be here,” Brock Nelson said. “I think we’ve gotten pretty comfortable at this hotel, so maybe bittersweet. I’m sure it’ll be nice to get a change of pace, change of scenery.

“It’ll be a little different, but the fact that we’re still here and playing, I think that’s the best part that everybody takes away.”

The Flyers, Lightning and Bruins were all staying at Hotel X from the start, along with the Capitals and Penguins. Those last two teams have since been knocked out, as have the other six teams that were staying at the Royal York.

The Islanders celebrate after their series-clinching win over the Capitals.AP

The Islanders are approaching their one-month mark in the bubble, but aside from missing their families, they say they have thus far avoided hitting a mental wall in the isolated environment.

“You’re gonna have days where they’re a little bit longer in here than others,” Anders Lee said. “You’re extremely busy with the task at hand and the games and getting ready for that, whether it’s recovery or meetings and all that stuff. But in the off time, we’ve done a phenomenal job as a team, spending time with one another, getting each other out of our rooms and spending time hanging out. We’re all going through this together, so we can lean on one another in that regard and get our minds off of maybe some of the stuff that we miss.

“We have an incredible opportunity here and so far it’s been a fun journey, getting to this point and working together as a team.”

Cal Clutterbuck was back on the ice for practice Saturday after missing Game 5 against the Capitals. The fourth-line winger had taken a low hit from Radko Gudas in Game 4 and didn’t think he was ready to play his style of game for the series finale.

“Everybody was out there and Cal was out there so we got up and down the ice pretty good today,” Barry Trotz said. “So I don’t foresee anything going into the series that we have to be too concerned about.”

The Islanders practiced Saturday and will have another short one Sunday. But Trotz said he doesn’t expect to hold another one the rest of the series as Games 2 and 3 are back-to-back, as are Games 6 and 7, if necessary.