A loss is a loss, particularly in the playoffs when a team only gets so many before the postseason turns into the offseason.
But the Islanders were feeling better – perhaps even encouraged – after their second straight defeat to open their Eastern Conference finals against the Lightning. Game 3 is Friday night at Rogers Place in Edmonton after the Lightning won Game 2, 2-1, on Nikita Kucherov’s goal with 8.8 seconds left in regulation.
“It’s probably better because our game was better,” said Islanders coach Barry Trotz when asked to characterize his team’s mood a day after the heartbreaker as compared to after Monday night’s 8-2 loss in Game 1.