PITTSBURGH — More quiet, more calm, more demure smiles.
The Islanders were just going about their business hours before trying to complete a sweep of the Penguins, up in their first-round, best-of-seven series 3-0 going into Game 4 here on Tuesday night.
That even-keeled demeanor has been one of the club’s strengths all season, so there was no reason for them to change with a chance to end Pittsburgh’s season.
“Same as every other game so far. No different,” coach Barry Trotz said Tuesday morning. “I think you just live for the moment; you live for whatever moment it is. Enjoy it and just play. I think they’ve done a really good job of that.”
After a hard practice Monday, few players took the ice Tuesday morning. Captain Anders Lee spent the time taping his sticks in the locker room like it was a Tuesday in February and there was snow outside, not April with a bright blue Pennsylvania sky.
“Mood’s good,” Lee said before being asked about the difference of an elimination game and those that come before it.
“I think there’s that added importance on all the little things,” he said. “You understand how difficult it’s going to be, with how hard they’re going to play, what they’re going to bring. They’re going to raise their game and we have to match that. There are some expectations that come with that, and it’s just important that we continue on the path that we’ve had throughout the series.”
There wasn’t much emphasis being put on getting the first goal, as the Islanders scored first in Game 1 but the Penguins scored first in both Games 2 and 3 — all Islanders wins.
“I don’t know if it’s going to matter one way or the other,” Trotz said. “We’ve been scored on first a few times, we’ve scored first. I don’t think it’s a factor.”
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The moment wasnt too big for Mat Barzal and the Islanders
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Second-year center Mat Barzal was the only regular to take the ice with the extras, but there was a rather simple explanation why from Trotz.
“He’s young,” Trotz said of the 21-year-old reigning Calder Trophy winner. “He’s just anxious.”
Maybe “excited” was the word Trotz was looking for, because Barzal has not looked one bit anxious this whole series. He had collected at least one assist in each of the first three games, four overall.
Trotz declared that defenseman Scott Mayfield was “fine” to play after he had missed Monday’s practice for what the team called “maintenance.”
If Mayfield couldn’t play, it was likely that Thomas Hickey could have stepped in, but Hickey stayed on the ice late with the extras. That included fellow blueliners Luca Sbisa and Dennis Seidenberg, along with forwards Michael Dal Colle and Ross Johnston.
Joining them was backup goalie Thomas Greiss.