Islanders News: ‘Everyone had a hold of the rope’

I am one of those fans who gets irritated when I see someone refer to the ‘90s-’00s Red Wings as a “dynasty,” or the Oilers of the ‘80s, or (Bossy forbid) even the Penguins of the, um 2009 to 2016-17 span, as the D-word.

It’s not a petty thing or a homer thing. When I was a tyke the Canadiens were the NHL’s last dynasty and the Islanders in 1982 had not yet done it. They were coming off back-to-back titles and aiming for a dynasty.

They did it. The Oilers didn’t. (Thanks, Steve Smith!).

Just because it’s harder to do now in the salary cap and information-diffused era doesn’t mean the definition should be lowered so that there can be a “dynasty” in every era. Save the praise for “dominant teams,” of which there are often more than one simultaneously.

So it was fun to read this piece on the NBA Warriors, who have apparently reached five finals in a row, with the Athletic getting reactions from the last major North American sports team that can make that claim. (Not the Oilers. Not the Red Wing$. Not the Tankguins.) The Dynasty Islanders sound like me discussing the NBA, but add in some interesting talk about Al Arbour and their own handling of the mental battle of hitting the biggest stage year after year.

Like Clark Gillies: “Once you’ve been there, you know how to program yourself on a daily basis. Younger teams tend to get overexcited. And they burn a lot of energy during the day. And in a lot of cases, there’s not much left at night.”

I mean sure yeah totally the Islanders could land Mitch Marner as an RFA with a $11.5 million offer. Never mind the endless first-round picks. [Eyes on Isles]

Elsewhere

Here’s your daily reminder that the Leafs could totally be Cup winners if only they had won a round (I know excluding the context is unfair, but Leafsdom deserves all scorn):

(Note: The Stars also nearly beat the one other team that may win the whole thing.)

• Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals is tonight, and the Blues feel like they are poised to rebound from a disappointing Game 1. [NHL]
• The Bruins, continuing their surge, are “running on all cylinders.” [NHL]
• Jordan Binnington ain’t scared. [NHL]
• With some help from some anonymous friends, this Dutch longtime Blues fan will fly to St. Louis to take in a finals game. [STL Today]
• Vince Dunn might return for the Blues. [NHL | STLtoday]
• So the Oilers hired Dave Tippett. Here’s the press conference. [Copper & Blue]
• He’s ready for a “fun ride” despite having to hold up an orange jersey. [NHL]
• Oilers are cautiously optimistic at the appearance of a competent GM and coach. [Edmonton Journal]
• Good for him: Kaapo Kakko feels no need to attend the NHL Scouting Combine. [NHL]
• More on Bettman’s state of the game, the CBA, video review, China, nothing about a women’s league. [NHL]