The New York Islanders are facing the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The Isles come in as the #8 seed in the Eastern Conference, and the team finished the lockout shortened season with 55 points. The Penguins are the top seed in the East, and they enter the postseason after capturing 72 points.
It’s been six seasons since Islanders fans have seen their team in the postseason, but the wait is now over. A young team, led by Hart Trophy candidate John Tavares, will not have an easy first round as they face the Pittsburgh Penguins.
I’m sitting on a leather couch in an upscale bar on Fulton Street and New York Giant cornerback Prince Amukamura is a few feet to my right. My colleague/friend/socializer Kris Venezia is next to me and we engage in conversation to avoid any awkward stares in our direction, which we knowingly received from many people, including Hannah Storm’s younger daughters to our left. You see we inadvertently had situated ourselves in the VIP section of the bar, an open room with neon lighting that offered us a chance to breathe.
The hockey scheduling gods have done the New York Rangers a favor, giving them an easy schedule at a crucial time in the hunt for a postseason spot. The Broadway Blue Shirts, with three games left, will take on Florida, Carolina and New Jersey, three teams that have already been eliminated from the playoffs.
The Rangers are in the 8th spot of the Eastern Conference with the Winnipeg Jets three points behind them the final week of the season, but Captain Ryan Callahan refuses to look in the rear view mirror.
New Jersey is home to some of the biggest and fastest roller coasters in the world. Jersey’s hockey team, the Devils, must have taken some inspiration from this and had a season that was nothing short of a roller coaster ride. On the day after the New York Rangers eliminated the Devils from the playoffs it’s now time to reflect on the season that could have been, but never was.
Maybe the writing was on the wall nearly four years ago when John Tavares first donned a blue and orange Islanders jersey. No flashy ceremony to say “New York hockey is back," but a fresh face for a failing franchise. More likely, you probably viewed the first overall pick of the 2009 draft as another future star who would toil away in a bad organization like Rick Nash (Columbus), Ilya Kovalchuk (Atlanta) and Rick DiPietro (New York Islanders) before him. With seven games left in the 2013 season, The Islanders officially controls their own destiny to the postseason, and their young alternate captain is the reason why.
By Nate Schiller, WFUV Sports
Who would have thought the defending Eastern Conference Championships would find themselves without a playoff berth with less than 10 games left in the season?
There is a certain humility that comes with being a captain in the National Hockey League. Often times when things go wrong, the “C” is expected to face the cameras of swarming New York media. A soft spoken, gritty seventh year veteran, Ryan Callahan embodies humility as he sits in his stall and answers every question from every reporter. He embodies the identity the Rangers wished they possessed right now. Put simply, his on and off ice demeanor has held the Blueshirts in postseason position.
Madison Square Garden is legendarily known as, ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena’, but that very building has had some unpleasantly long summers for quite some time now. The Knicks are going on 40 years removed since their last Championship, and the Rangers last won a Stanley Cup behind Mark Messier’s guarantee in 1994, their first and last since 1940.
At first, I was offended when I heard John Tortorella refused to answer basic questions from the media about injuries and in-game pep talks. He is paid plenty of money, money earned off the backs of the fans that attend games and spend a ridiculous sum for “NHL Center Ice”, to answer these questions. How could a hockey coach ignore those fans that bleed blue when they want a little more access to the team they pay so much to see? In hindsight, my offense was shortsighted.
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