It’s right in front of the Islanders now. A chance to win a playoff series, a chance to do it in front of their own diehard fans who have endured 23 seasons of first-round exits or the failure to make the playoffs.
The key, however, is to not treat Sunday’s Game 6 against the Panthers at Barclays Center as the most important game just about all of these Islanders have ever played.
“The series isn’t over, far from it and we have to treat this like it’s an important game, but only because it’s the next one,” John Tavares told Newsday on Saturday, just after the team returned from Florida.