NEW YORK ISLANDERS 4 vs. FLORIDA PANTHERS 3
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF ROUND 1, GAME 3
Thomas Hickey scores OT winner; Islanders take 2-1 series lead
Recap:
Thomas Hickey scored 12:31 into OT to give New York a 2-1 series lead in their first round series against Florida. John Tavares, Kyle Okposo and Ryan Pulock each recorded multi-point games to help the Islanders erase a 2-0 and 3-1 deficits.
Three Stars
1st Star: Thomas Hickey (OTG)
2nd Star: Reilly Smith (1G, 2A)
3rd Star: Ryan Pulock (1G, 1A)
Team Notes:
• Islanders lead the series 2-1, with Game 4 set for Wednesday Night at Barclays Center.
• New York improved to 11-3-3 at home since Feb. 1
Player Notes:
• Thomas Hickey (GWG) scored the overtime winner; his first goal of the playoffs
• Ryan Pulock (1G, 1A) tallied his first post-season point on a PPG in the second period
• Pulock is the youngest NYI defeseman To score a playoff goal since Wayne McBean in 1990.
• Thomas Greiss made 36 saves in the win, including 8 in overtime
• John Tavares extended his point streak to eight games (including regular season).
• Kyle Okposo recorded his second multi-point game this postseason.
• Okposo and Tavares have recorded a point in each of the first three playoff games.
• Shane Prince recorded his first post-season point with a second-period goal.
Quotes from the game:
Jack Capuano:
On the game: “Our power play was a big force tonight. Our penalty kill was a big force tonight. We had contributions from everybody. A lot of times those defensemen score the big goals and Thomas (Greiss) made some big saves for us when we needed to hold the score to where it was.”
On Thomas Hickey: “There’s not a guy on our team that plays as big as Thomas Hickey. When you talk about toughness, I’ve always described it as taking a hit to make a play, and that’s what he does. He puts himself in situations where he is either going take a hit but he’s going to make that play.”
On the crowd: “Once we stepped on the ice, as far as the coaching staff and then the players came out, you could tell that the players were intense. In a playoff series like this you’re going to need your fans to be the sixth man and that’s exactly what they were tonight. It was loud, lost my voice a little bit just because it was so loud in there. Fans were great and hopefully it’ll be the same way Wednesday night.”
On Ryan Pulock: “He’s a young player and the points are great. He’s still working on his game, on his gap control and his play away from the puck. We know he has a great shot, we know he see’s the ice well. To me he is a lot more assertive now than when he first came and that’s a good sign. He’s done well.”
On the team: “This is just the team that we are. We’re not going to go away. This group is young. We have some young players that are playing hard and they are here to try to help us win. I’m proud of the effort that the guys put in tonight… Those guys in there played hard and they deserve a lot of the credit tonight. Just the smile on their faces and the emotion and excitement when Thomas (Hickey) scored that goal, that’s what it’s all about.”
Thomas Hickey:
On his big goals of late: “You shoot so many pucks in a season. Sometimes they don’t go in when they should and sometimes you have some good looks and they don’t go in. You know, there’s something about it. Anything can happen in overtime. There’s no such thing as a bad shot. I’ve been fortunate – I had two great passes.”
On the game/crowd: “I thought it was incredible. Our fans, right from the start gave us that extra boost tonight. I had goosebumps after the anthem. We fed off that. It was great seeing the orange. They brought it today. They stuck with us. It would have been easy to get discouraged but they were right there until the end.”
On if it felt like home ice advantage: “Absolutely, 100 percent. It did.”
Ryan Pulock:
On the crowd: “The atmosphere here tonight was incredible. The fans were incredible from start to finish. It was loud. They kept us going. Even though we lost momentum at times, they were able to help us to get it back. It was huge.”
On his goal: “It felt good. Obviously, the crowd, the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the goal to kind of get us back in it – it felt good.”
On his game: “I was able to get some shots away on the power-play there. It was so much fun – being in that atmosphere, playing in those tight games. It’s playoff hockey.”
Shane Prince:
On the game: “It’s obviously a big game. Game 3 in a tied series, we wanted to take the lead back in the series. The fans were unbelievable tonight. They got us going we had a little deficit and the boys rallied back. That’s the type of team we are, we’re just relentless. It’s a big win.”
On the fans: “They’re amazing. It’s unbelievable how passionate they are. They want to win just as bad as we do. It’s unbelievable to come out to those fans tonight. We can’t do it without them. We need them behind us every home game. It’s a huge home ice advantage when they’re like that.”
On Game 4: Well tonight was a big win. We got the series lead and we want to make it a 3-1 lead going back to Florida, put the pressure on them. It’s another huge game. Every game is big in the playoffs so we will be ready to go.”
Alan Quine:
On the game: “It was a big character win coming back like that. It all started with Johnny (Tavares) line. They’re paving the way like they always do. Then the fans were awesome behind us.”
On his game: “It’s obviously an exciting time. I’m happy they felt confident in me to have me come back (from Bridgeport) for the playoffs. I’m just trying to play hard and play smart.”
On falling down 0-2: “We tried to stay positive and make sure we played the right way. We’ll get our chances so that was the biggest thing.”
Gerard Gallant (FLA Head Coach):
On the loss: Disappointing obviously. I think we lost that game in the second period. For about a seven minute span, when they get two goals against us. But it was a good hockey game, two good teams. I thought it could have went either way. Obviously, a good overtime game. I’m sure they’re happy and we’re a little disappointing. It was a tough loss.”
On Reilly Smith: “Reilly was awesome. That line has been real good for us. He’s contributing big time, putting pucks to the net. He’s playing real good.”
On bouncing back Wednesday: “It’s not like you come in here and get beat 7-1. We’re going to come back and we’re going to be confident. All three games, we’re down 2 games to 1, but all three games were tight games and could have went either way, all three of them. So it could be just as easily 2-1. We have to battle back and get ready for the next game and hopefully get it back to 2-2.
Roberto Luongo (FLA Goaltender):
On the game: “It was a close game. It was a hard fought battle. It came down to OT and they got a break. There’s a fine line between winning and losing in this league, especially when you got two evenly matched teams. We found ourselves on the wrong end of it tonight.”
On the game-winning goal: The puck came out of the corner and their guy got it in the slot alone. I tried to come out and challenge, I got a piece of it, but obviously not enough.”
On two days off: “I need the rest, three games in four nights with an overtime so I’m pretty exhausted right now. Need a couple days to re-energize here and get ready for Wednesday.”
Reilly Smith (FLA Forward):
On the game: “It’s a little frustrating that we’ve done such a good job closing teams out all season and then in playoffs it’s been the opposite way. We’re just gonna have to work on that.”
On his line: “I think we’re playing well, we’re doing a lot of little things well. We’re recycling pucks really well and we’re making their defense work. Seems like doing that or finding each other or finding an open spot. We’re gonna keep doing that and hopefully we can still get a couple more bounces and help our team pull out the next one.”
