George Richards, FHN Publisher
Column by Rob Simpson from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto
TORONTO — Islanders hockey. Don’t make it any easier for them than you have to; that was the story for the Panthers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Qualifying Series.
The score should sound familiar: New York 2, Florida 1.
They keep it tight, they keep it congested, they keep it low-scoring in coach Barry Trotz’s perfect world.
In this case the Cats helped the Isles by parading to the penalty box early.
Florida captain Sasha Barkov made reference to it in the postgame media availability, pointing out that the penalty kill kept certain players, notably him and his linemates, off the ice in the first period.
Not a great formula, yet Joel Quenneville put a happy twist on it.
“I thought we got through a couple big kills early in that game,” Coach Q said.
“I didn’t mind our start when we got through those penalties. We lost a little momentum, but we were still in a decent place, I didn’t mind our first period.”
It was actually a second period Florida penalty that made the difference.
Mike Matheson’s high hit on Johnny Boychuk was originally deemed a five minute major until it was downgraded to two-minutes upon review.
The illegal hit to the head at 2:44 of the period led to Anthony Beauvillier’s game winning goal at 3:39.
That was the final infraction of the hockey game.
Fans on hand or not, the sense of a gradual momentum change in the building was palpable.
Slowly but surely the Cats’ top line increased its ice time and its opportunities.
By the third period it came down to the simple question that often arises during an Islanders game: will they hold on to a one-goal lead and reach the 3rd period horn? They did.
Coach Q had no choice but to remain optimistic.
“Coming into this series, coming into today’s game, it’s kind of what we expected. It’s gonna be tight, not a lot of scoring chances, although there was probably more than we anticipated both ways. You have to expect a low scoring game, be patient, and find a way to fight through it.”
Florida’s next chance to fight through it comes at noon eastern on Tuesday.
Two days to think about staying out of the box and getting off to a better start.
Two days to not think about Islanders hockey.
CAT NIP
With no fans in the building, there is no netting behind the glass behind the goals.
The result means clearer views for the many TV cameras in the building and for all the fans at home.
Deflected pucks that clear the glass sail off into the distance just like in the old days.
— The media at the Scotiabank Arena is spread out in the upper deck where fans would normally be seated upstairs.
Each massive section has a grand total of 4 media positions. The press box would be too tight, too intimate, and not allow for property social distancing.
— For whatever reason, despite no fans, the league has copied the Maple Leafs philosophy of pumping loud music whenever possible, whenever there’s no action.
That includes during long breaks between games.
Makes it tough to hear the interviews and to review the clips afterwards. Ha ha. Oh well.
That said, the NHL’s tune selection is way better — actually heard a full Doors tune before the Panthers game.
Leafs play the same tunes, every game, same order, every night, way too LOUDLY.
Longtime NHL broadcaster and journalist Rob Simpson is covering the NHL return at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto for FloridaHockeyNow.com.