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Thomas Greiss, holy cow. I don’t know if there will be any more back-to-backs for the Islanders (certainly not in this round), so there’s no telling if we’ll see #1 in the crease again. But last night he was his 2016 playoff self, standing on his head to steal a win for the Islanders.
The Islanders definitely played well in significant stretches — and Brian Elliott’s saves on the early PK kept the Isles from building an early lead — but Greiss kept the Flyers behind and robbed them of multiple chances to tie the game in the third. A memorable performance.
Islanders News
- Jenny has our recap of a game that could have broken open a few different ways, depending on the period and the goalie. [LHH]
- More recaps from the Battle of the Backups, most noting Barry Trotz calling it the Isles’ worst playoff game so far: [Newsday | NHL | Post]
- And as you’ve all heard by now, they are one win away from getting reaching the conference final for the first time since 1993, which brings back memories. [Newsday | Post] Trotz: “When I came here I said this to the whole group: I had a great experience in Washington, I was able to go to the top of the mountain there in this league and I really want to share that with this group.”
- For the Flyers, a painful one that got away. [BSH]
- Feel-good story: Oskar Lindblom took part in warmups for the Flyers. (He was not scheduled to be “ready” until a little later in the playoffs, but if he’s ready now, wouldn’t Game 5 be a perfect opportunity for a spark?) [NHL]
- Larry Brooks with the timely reminder of how much of this team was put together by Garth Snow. [Post]
- From after Game 3, when Derick Brassard had a big interception and assist: BGB. [Post]
- Also from after Game 3, Barry Trotz was looking to push his guys to the next level. [Newsday]
- 31 Thoughts on many things, including the painstaking details of the Coyotes investigation that cost them a couple of draft picks. But also this: “spies have noticed adjustments in Semyon Varlamov’s style from March to now. In particular, the way he held his glove was slowing his movements left-to-right and opening his five-hole. Smarter people than me say the difference is apparent.” [Sportsnet]
Let’s take one more moment (or five) to admire cheeky Beau’s feet:
This zone exit to set the goal up pic.twitter.com/EPIVBI38kh
— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) August 31, 2020
Post-Game Clips
Zen of Trotz here...
“Our group understands that you go the distance on everything. You saw that when we were down 3 pucks the other right and we pulled it off to get it to overtime. It’s a room that understands that you have to go the distance and that distance is the final buzzer.” pic.twitter.com/YM1LEDgebe
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) August 31, 2020
Brock dotes with love on Pageau and Greiss:
“Good teams come out and forget about the first two periods and look forward. I truly believe we have that kind of group in our locker room, a lot of character, and we proved that tonight.”
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) August 31, 2020
Pageau and Nelson address the media after the win. pic.twitter.com/s8znKCdOAx
Greiss: It was “definitely nice” to get some reps in Game 2 first. He also said he doesn’t think about much, just “stop the puck. It’s not rocket science.”
“We have a lot of confidence in tight games. It starts with goaltending. A lot of confidence in both those guys and it’s worked it’s way up from there. We just want to keep it going."
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) August 31, 2020
Bailey and Greiss break down the Game 4 win. pic.twitter.com/VdD4LwAfzg
Not gonna lie, I keep chuckling to myself that boy, they sure were right about how winning in the playoffs in Toronto would be different. Former Islander Arron Asham with the shade:
Wonder if JT is watching shaking his head ? #pjs
— Arron Asham (@TheRealAsham45) August 31, 2020
Elsewhere
The other games yesterday were out west, where the Avalanche were pushed to the brink by the Stars, and the Knights did the same to the Canucks.
The high-flying Avalanche are looking for answers, learning offense isn’t everything. (I suspect they actually knew that already.) [ESPN | Sportsnet]
El Paso, Texas, wins the annual Hockeyville USA contest. [NHL]