Kevin Schultz, Islanders Point Blank:

Now there’s no turning back.

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Kevin Schultz, Islanders Point Blank:

For the final 17 games of the regular season plus six playoff games, this was a completely different team. One that couldn’t hold a lead and seemed to fold in the clutch for much of the first two months (and previous seasons) all of a sudden pulled a 180-degree turn. Early on, the coach didn’t have the answers, certain players didn’t appear to have the heart and then all of a sudden they were a strong-willed team that had guts, determination and a killer instinct.
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Preview — Box Score — TOI — Highlights

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – After the final buzzer the Islanders took one final spin around the ice at Nassau Coliseum, with the fans behind them chanting, “lets go Islanders” and chanting “M-V-P” at Hart Trophy finalist John Tavares.

It was all that was left to do after the Islanders fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in overtime, in a game that ended their season.

“It’s just tough to put into words,” Colin McDonald said after the defeat. “Losing a game like that. Losing a series like that, it’s just tough.”

It was Brooks Orpik who scored 7:49 into the overtime period and ended the Islanders magical run that saw them shock pundits around the league who had given them no chance.

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Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Islanders, 7:00pm ET
Nassau Coliseum — Uniondale, NY — MSG+, NBCSN, TSN

Update, 3:26pm – Check out Christian’s blog for notes and quotes from the morning skate.

Original Story, 1:51pm — Tonight at the Coliseum the Islanders face elimination against the Penguins, down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. Both prior games at the Coliseum came down to the wire and were absolutely crazy in terms of the fans noise, and hopefully tonight won’t be any different. Despite Thursday’s clunker in Pittsburgh, the Islanders are very much alive in this series and have played well at home.

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Saturday’s Game Six at the Coliseum will be simulcast on WFAN 660AM and 101.9FM. It will also be broadcast on the normal 88.7 WRHU. In some radio justice, the game will pre-empt WFAN’s Steve “Icelanders” Somers.

Kevin Schultz, Islanders Point Blank:

The comptroller, now apparently having jumped on the Islanders bandwagon, is in full support of the team. During the lockout, the comptroller had a little bit different tune.

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Kevin Schultz, Islanders Point Blank:

Original Post – 12:20 p.m.: Islanders netminder Evgeni Nabokov has struggled in this series against the Penguins — and in all fairness the Pens have a lot of offensive firepower. He’s allowed 20 goals in five games and has an .845 save percentage. Seven of those goals have come from Pittsburgh’s power play unit. But now, the Islanders are in an interesting position with Nabokov. He hasn’t played so well that it’s a no-brainer to keep him in and the team could be playing back-to-back games this weekend, something Nabokov hasn’t done but once all season.

For better or worse, the Islanders have seemed to make their bed with Nabokov. He started 41 of the team’s 48 regular season games and has played all five playoff games thus far. The Islanders have made clear, by not allowing another goalie more than four starts this year, that Nabokov is their guy and they’re going to stick with him. But now they’re in a peculiar situation.

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The NHL has announced the finalists for the Hart Trophy.

They are Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin and the Islanders John Tavares.

Tavares ranked third in the NHL with 28 goals and had 19 assists.

From the NHL Press Release: