Islanders & NHL Playoff News: Roster turnover, Lightning roles

The Stanley Cup final...still hasn’t started. But the post-mortem and second-guessing of our rivals is well underway!

Below: Looking at the Isles roster, and basking in the delicious and petty joy of the Smurfs going down.

Islanders News

• Break it down like Tom Petty: Who stays, who goes, who’s dangled in a “hockey trade” on the Islanders roster. [Athletic]
• “If you told me someone’s playoff run rested on the health of Ryan Strome...” ... “The Lightning took that heart and ate it in front of them.” Dan and Mike enjoy the delicious demise of the Rangers in different but complementary ways. [Islanders Anxiety podcast]
• Speaking of which, old timers see similarities in the resilience and in-series adjustments of today’s Lightning and the 1980-84 Islanders. [Athletic]
• And speaking of that: A tale of two 20-year-olds who decided to meet the Islanders at the airport upon their return from Vancouver with their third Stanley Cup in 1982. [Isles]
• If all New York sports were treated as a collective the way Canadian media treat every Canada-based NHL teams’ Cup hopes as a single thing, then you could say the Tampa Bay Lightning are the biggest nemesis of all New York sports. (In reality, though, the Lightning this spring are heroes.) [Newsday]
• Barry Trotz is in no rush to choose his destination, so a Winnipeg brewery is trying to sweeten the offer. [Post | TSN]

NHL News

• Nikita Kucherov continues to be one clutch badass. [NHL]
• Steven Stamkos is thriving in a different role with the Lightning. [TSN]
• Gerard Gallant sort of kind of explains why he scratched Kaapo Kakko, but it’s not really informative and boy, it’s one of those moves people will bring up for a while. [Post]
• How can the Rangers close the very large gap? MOAR bulk! [Post]
• Stop me if you’ve heard this before: It’s a pivotal offseason for the Sabres, who have three first-round picks. [NHL]
• In the women’s U-18, Canada beat the U.S. for gold. [Sportsnet]
• Old friend Mikko Koskinen did not wait long to say goodbye to the Oilers, signing a two-year deal with Lugano in Switzerland. I’m sure he’ll send Jim Matheson a postcard. [Copper n Blue | Sportsnet]
• Jeremy Lauzon signs a four-year, $8 million extension with the Predators. [ESPN | On the Forecheck]
• The top 10 right wings in this summer’s draft. [NHL]
• The Oilers made big strides this year but will need more of their youth movement to bear fruit. [Copper n Blue]