Islanders hitting 'reset button' after getting over playoff hurdle

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. – The New York Islanders leapt over a franchise hurdle last season when they advanced out of the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 1993.

John Tavares’ overtime goal in Game 6 against the Florida Panthers was the team’s most memorable moment from their opening year at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Those 11 games last spring ended with disappointment, but there was plenty to learn from and take into the 2016-17 NHL season.

“The big thing that I took away was you’ve got to win the games you should win, and you’ve got to find a way to win some games that maybe you shouldn’t win,” Tavares this week. “That happened in the Florida series and it didn’t happen so much in the Tampa series. Other than that, I know we play at a very high level; we compete at a very high level. There’s a lot of belief in the locker room. That playoff series win was really good for our group mentally to get over that hurdle. Obviously, we want to get to that end goal.”

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That end goal is a Stanley Cup, something the Islanders haven’t won since 1983. After a summer with notable names – Matt Martin, Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo – leaving for greener pastures, head coach Jack Capuano’s job is to maintain the level of play that helped get his team to a second straight 100-point season and reach the second round.

How does he plan on doing that?

Accountability.

“There are certain things that we do as a staff in our meetings prior to opening night, our postgame cataloging and analysis, that hold guys accountable,” Capuano said. “And quite frankly, if they don’t do their job they don’t play. Just getting by where we were last year they know it’s not good enough. You play the game to try to get into the playoffs. It’s tough to get into the dance, it’s not that easy, especially in our division. And when you get there you want to win a Cup, that’s why you play the game. I think our guys realize that.”

One new face on the Islanders roster who has won a Stanley Cup — two, actually – is Andrew Ladd, he of the seven-year, $38.5 million deal signed on July 1. He was on that 2008-09 Chicago Blackhawks team that lost in the Western Conference Final to the Detroit Red Wings in five games after the franchise had previously missed the playoffs five straight seasons.

One year later Ladd and the Blackhawks were lifting the Cup. The key, he says, for the Islanders to continue moving forward is to forget about last year.

“There’s a reset button every year. As far as last year’s concerned it’s great that they made it to the second round but the goal in here is ultimately a Stanley Cup,” said Ladd. “Each and every year you’re focused on that and solely that. If that’s our mindset from the get-go that’ll help propel us to get us a good start.”

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy