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Islanders & NHL Playoff News: Trotz speaks, and the champs aren’t dead yet

The Lightning earned the right to come home for Game 6.

By Steven E. Smith
/ new

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2022 NHL Stanley Cup Final - Game Five
What a grab! Perfect timing. Bruce Bennett does it again.
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

I should have known not to bet against this Tampa Bay Lightning team. The champs would not go down easily. I said as much yesterday, but I thought it wouldn’t be enough to combat the altitude.

But even though the Colorado Avalanche tied it early in the third period, they couldn’t stop Ondrej Palat, king of clutch this year.

Islanders News

  • This (Yester)Day in Isles History: The Isles drafted Rick DiPietro (2000) and Kieffer Bellows (2016); and they traded for Michael Peca (2001).
  • It was reported that Barry Trotz decided not to get right back into coaching. [Newsday] Then, he confirmed it. He briefly discussed his relationship with the Islanders near the end, and maybe I’m reading too much into it, but his words seemed to convey that he stepped away more than he was let go—as if it was a mutual decision. [NHL]
  • The Worcester Railers, the Isles’ ECHL affiliate, announced that they mutually parted ways with head coach and GM David Cunniff. [RailersHC]
  • Yesterday was the anniversary of the New Jersey Devils’ first Cup win, and here is Lou as it is going on. Look at all that hair!

Stanley Cup Final

  • It has been a back-and-forth affair the last couple of games of this series. [NHL]
  • It’s that “mental fortitude” that has made them two-time defending Stanley Cup champs. [NHL]
  • Palat, a pending UFA, is going to get PAID this summer if he wants to leave Tampa. It’s the third time this month that he played hero. [NHL]
  • The 2001 Avalanche see “Joe Sakic’s fingerprints all over” the current squad. Perhaps he was inspired by that team. [The Athletic]

Elsewhere

  • Luke Richardson, one-time Islanders assistant coach and who most recently held the same job with the Montréal Canadiens, reportedly will be the next head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks. [ESPN]
  • Trotz this week informed the Winnipeg Jets that he would not be taking the job. So they have to turn to their next option, and here are some guys who could make a decent fit. [Sportsnet]
  • Philadelphia Flyers forward Joel Farabee underwent disk replacement surgery and may miss the beginning of next season recuperating. [ESPN]
  • This season is almost over, so it is time to take deep dives into the offseason, starting with the top 32 free agent forwards. [The Athletic]

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