Miracle on Long Island

 

(AP) Uniondale, NY - Did that just happen?!  Did the Isles just bounce the two-time defending conference champs out of the 1996 NFHL playoffs in 6 games??  YUP!!  Wow.  Not even GM Healy saw that one coming. Content just to make the playoffs in a season marked by many personnel changes, but with coach Pat Burns (once again) making the most with the pieces he was given.  Team management knew they would live or die between the pipes with the performance of veteran Grant Fuhr - and, for most of the season, his inconsistency didn’t inspire any sort of confidence that the team could be giant killers come playoff time, if the team even found themselves there.  But with a monumental collapse in Quebec, Fuhr didn’t have overwhelming pressure down the stretch, and it seems the mental energy he was able to conserve allowed him ample reserve to stonewall a Hartford Whalers team that threw everything at him, especially in the pivotal overtime frames of the 6th and deciding game of the series.  When all was said and done, the Isles emerged victorious 3-2 in 2OT on home ice, a place they’ve often felt out of place the past few seasons, struggling to win games that mattered.  Franchise cornerstone Alexei Yashin was stellar in his playoff debut, UFA pickup Guy Carbonneau proved he was worth every penny that many said was (over)spent on him, the pairing of Brian Benning and Alexei Zhitnik was a rock in the back along with Sean Hill (who’s goals decided two games), while deadline acquisitions Kjell Dahlin, Evgeny Davidov and Alexei Kasatonov played the roles asked of them to a T.  Many have accused GM Healy of being too complacent in the past, content to let the youthful fruit planted to cultivate and flourish over time, but his ability to wheel and deal for the right pieces at the right time was front and center this season, putting to rest any questions from the naysayers about his acumen as a top-tier GM in the league.

 

So, as the team comes to grips with the gravity of their series victory over the Whalers (a team that similarly pestered them come playoff time in the years preceding this rebuild), the focus now turns to New Jersey.  Can the Isles channel the same energy that saw an upstart 6th seeded Devils team in 1982 upset them as the #2 seed and keep this miracle season rolling?  Or will the team capitulate under the weight of their opponent's stardom and dominant head-to-head regular season performance?  One thing is for certain, nobody will be underestimating what the Isles can accomplish anymore, if they keep on playing the way they have.