Being back at Nassau Coliseum brought back memories of the 2015 NHL playoffs to Islanders coach Barry Trotz and defenseman Ryan Pulock, who were on opposite sides of the Capitals’ seven-game, first-round victory that marked the end of the Islanders’ first tenure at the venerable barn.
“It was the most physical series that I’d been involved in as a coach,” said Trotz, in his first season behind the Islanders’ bench after four seasons in Washington.
The Islanders, who won Game 1, 4-1, in Washington, forced a seventh game with a 3-1 win in Game 6 at the Coliseum.