Today’s Game 4 is, officially, the Islanders’ biggest game since 1984. This is their deepest run since 1993, and that team only won a consolation Game 4 after going down 3-0 to the Canadiens. That team didn’t have really any chance to win the series when they won their lone game.
But the Islanders, with a win today, will be closer to the Stanley Cup than they have been in the last 36 years. They would also draw even with the Lightning and create a best-of-3 scenario.
As Barry Trotz acknowledged in the first article you’ll read below, there’s no way Tampa Bay wants to let that happen.