Islanders have confidence they can go further in third straight playoff appearance

Several players had the same message for Barry Trotz shortly after he was hired as the Islanders coach but perhaps none as forceful as Cal Clutterbuck.

"One of the first phone calls I had with him was that he was going to be surprised with how eager the guys were to get this going and be good," Clutterbuck said. "We had some confidence in each other."

Three seasons later and the Islanders are three-for-three in qualifying for the playoffs under Trotz after missing the previous two seasons before he and president and general manager Lou Lamoriello took over the team.

The Islanders opened a two-game, back-to-back series in Buffalo on Monday night against the East Division-trailing Sabres after clinching a playoff berth with Saturday’s 3-0 win over the Rangers at Nassau Coliseum.

The Islanders advanced to the second round in Trotz’s first season and the Eastern Conference finals last season. Many of the players, such as Clutterbuck, were with the Islanders before Lamoriello and Trotz’s arrival.

The Islanders had allowed a league-worst 296 goals in 2017-18. That improved to a league-best 196 goals in Trotz’s first season.

"I remember distinctly talking with Cal and he says, ‘You’ll be surprised that this team is a good team,’" Trotz said. "’This team really wants to win and we’ll do what we need to do to win.’ And he was spot on. This group was hungry to win. There was a lot of good pieces in place. They needed to get their confidence back. The year before they gave up the most goals and it was because they just didn’t play the right way to help each other. They were all about getting points but not getting wins."

Clutterbuck said most of the credit for the organizational turnaround belongs to Lamoriello and Trotz for creating a solid team structure and accountability. But, Clutterbuck added, "Some credit goes to the players, too, for checking themselves and their personal agendas and going out there and trying to be a successful team.

"We were confident in the group of guys we had. I knew and most of us knew that it wasn’t a case of guys not wanting to succeed and not wanting to put in the time to play well. I think we just needed a little guidance. And Barry came in and gave us some good guidance."

Of course, qualifying for the playoffs — and being consistent about that — is only the first goal.

That was a message Trotz made clear to his players after Saturday’s win.

"Part one done," Trotz said. "But we want to finish as high [in the standings] as we can."

"It’s nice to clinch the playoff spot," defenseman Scott Mayfield said. "But we know it’s not over."

Winning the Stanley Cup is always the ultimate goal. The Islanders have not done so since winning their fourth straight Cup in 1983. They haven’t been to the Cup Final since 1984.

But a third straight playoff berth, and the upward trend of their first two appearances under Trotz, is a confidence booster.

"All signs point that we’re trending the way we want to trend," Clutterbuck said. "I don’t think teams who make the playoffs, then miss the playoffs and are inconsistent, really have that great a chance to win a Stanley Cup. You watch a lot of teams that win the Cup, it’s not a one-off. They learn and there’s a core group of players that are there that go through year after year of building and getting better. And I think that’s where we’re positioned right now."

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.