There was no let-up, not after goals scored, not even after the final horn had sounded.
The Islanders continued to ride this huge wave of emotion as they secured a 3-1 win over the Penguins in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Friday night at the Coliseum, taking a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series for the first time since the Stanley Cup final of 1983.
And if someone from that final year of four Cups in a row was dropped into this night, they might not have found anything out of place. As the win resonated around the rollicking old building, there was a kerfuffle behind the Islanders net — the little cross-checks, the grabbing of jerseys, the face-washes that define the passion of the postseason.
In this instance, they also defined the passion of this Islanders team, which may not be the most talented, but has predicated this surprising season on playing together and always bringing the intensity.
“They’re close-knit, they have each other’s back, and they’ve grown together,” coach Barry Trotz said. “I love the fact that this game is about emotion. It’s about having the emotion — all kinds. Win, lose, you get different emotions [with] turns in the game, each period, all that.
“It’s life. You know you’re alive out there. And they’re having fun.”
How could it not be fun when the Islanders never get flustered, not in the face of the Penguins with all of their trophies resting at home. After a dramatic 4-3 overtime win in Game 1, everyone knew the Penguins were going to come out flying.
They did, and the game was far more physical right from the get-go. But a slick goal from a Jordan Eberle backhand at 7:54 of the third period broke a 1-1 tie, and then a power-play tally from Josh Bailey at 11:38 extended the lead to 3-1. Both players have now scored twice in this series, rising to the occasion just like the rest of the club.
And when Pittsburgh pushed over the final few minutes, there was goalie Robin Lehner flashing his glove to snatch a laser shot from Phil Kessel to preserve the lead and begin yet another showering of adoration from the 13,917 in attendance, many of whom were in the parking lot before the clock struck noon.
“We’ve been in 1-1, 2-1, 2-2 situations going into the third all year, and I think that has been a great experience for us,” said Lehner, who followed his 41-save performance in Game 1 with a stellar 32-save showing. “We had no panic, we didn’t feel nervous in here or anything. We trusted that if we stuck to our game, we were going to come out with the win.”
It wasn’t so clear early on, when the Penguins took a 1-0 lead at 10:36 of the second period when a long Erik Gudbranson shot got through traffic and beat Lehner. But the lead lasted less than three minutes, as Anthony Beauvillier batted in a loose puck to tie it.
But as the goal celebration was beginning, Mathew Barzal was behind the net cross-checking defenseman Marcus Pettersson, enraged that Pettersson had ridden him into the backboards after his initial redirection was stopped by goalie Matt Murray. Beauvillier and the rest of the team raced over to defend their reigning Calder Trophy winner, with no hesitation from anyone to get their hands up.
“It’s honestly overreaction on my part,” Barzal said. “I thought I might have been a little vulnerable, but he let up and just rode me into the boards. So a bit of an overreaction on my part, but that’s hockey sometimes.”
The only real overreaction that would matter would be if the Islanders think getting the next two wins in this series is going to be anything but incredibly difficult. The atmosphere in Pittsburgh for Game 3 on Sunday afternoon will rival anything that the Coliseum has produced, and it is going to take everything the Isles have to keep the momentum.
“I said, ‘Just leave it out there, every night, every shift,’ ” Trotz said, “and things will take care of themselves.”