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The scene's from last night's performance will be remembered for years to come. After a gut-wrenching and embarrassing 8-0 loss in game five of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Islanders shipped back up to Nassau Coliseum, with the potential of playing their last game in the barn ever.
All playoffs long, the buzz has been real surrounding the Islanders. They even were considered "America's Choice" per a Score survey. Between the Jet's offensive lineman crushing beers, the Barstool and Borelli's bump full of live streams plus Stu Feiner screaming, and a slew of A-list celebrities making their rounds, this has been a very exciting season for the team. They were not going to go out without a fight.
That statement remained true. After ending regulation all tied at two, the hero of the night was Anthony Beauvillier, who scored the game-winner a little over a minute into overtime, propelling the Islanders to a 3-2 win, and keeping their hopeful playoff dream alive. Filled with excitement that has been building up, the ice was filled with beer cans and the Barn echoed chants of "Let's Go, Islanders". The team now heads back to Tampa, with sites to continue to the Stanley Cup finale, and avoid heading back home in defeat.
No matter what happens on Friday night, this Islander's team forever will live on. A few years back, the Islanders were a laughing stock after their star center, John Tavares, departed from the team in free agency to play for his childhood favorite Toronto Maple Leafs. Not trading him for assets was supposed to haunt the team, but then came the hiring of Barry Trotz, coming off a Stanley Cup win in Washington. Matt Barzal has skyrocketed as one of the league's top young performers, and GM Lou Lamoriello (back-to-back GM of the Year winner) has kept the team competitive with savvy moves.
Last year in the "Covid Bubble", they took on the same foe in the Lightning and kept it close. Tampa ultimately won that Stanley Cup. In this playoff alone, they defeated Crosby and the Penguins in demanding fashion, then triumphed over the powerful Bruins. Now, they had off to game seven against the reigning champions, leaving it out all on the ice. As stated in the title, you can't win in seven if you don't lose three. It has been a tooth-and-nail battle between the two squads. No matter how dominating and solid the Lightning have been, you can't count out the scrappy New York Islanders.