The Islanders got this close last season. So, they know how painful it is not to go further and play for the Stanley Cup.
They also always expected to have another shot.
The Islanders open their NHL semifinals against the defending Stanley Cup-champion Lightning — who ousted them in six games in the Eastern Conference finals last season in the Edmonton bubble — on Sunday afternoon in Tampa, Florida.
The talk was of unfinished business after the Islanders beat the Bruins, 6-2, in the decisive Game 6 of their second-round series on Wednesday night at Nassau Coliseum.