Islanders coach Barry Trotz: You can never relax in the playoffs

Barry Trotz’s various descriptions of the Islanders-Bruins’ second-round series as "razor thin" and with "no easy ice" have been apt.

The Bruins held a 2-1 series lead entering Saturday night’s Game 4 at Nassau Coliseum, with the teams splitting the last two games in overtime and a 5-2 Bruins’ win in Game 1 that was tied in the third period. Each team had held a multi-goal lead in one period apiece. Otherwise, it had been a one-goal series.

Which is why the little details that Trotz often cites — everything from faceoffs to defensive spacing to goaltending to special teams — are so important. Particularly special teams’ play with the teams combining for just 11 five-on-five goals over the first three games.

"Five on five, it’s been pretty even," the Islanders coach said. "You can win or lose a game on special teams. It’s a very important part of the game. All that’s important. In that moment, that one second, that one thought where you relax, that might be a goal against. That’s the hard, mental part of playoff hockey that people don’t understand. It’s not going to feel good all the time. It’s not going to look good all the time.

"You could go 58 minutes in a game, 59 minutes in a game where nothing has happened because both teams are razor sharp in terms of their detail and protecting ice," Trotz added. "And in one split second, the game could be over. That’s the hard, mental part of the game. You can’t relax. You have to be on the whole time. And when the game is over, you need to get away from the game because you’ll be mentally fried in about a week."

The Islanders lost Thursday’s Game 3, 2-1, in overtime and Trotz, mindful of the mental toll, scheduled an optional practice for Friday and an optional morning skate for Saturday.

The Islanders killed off both the Bruins’ power plays in Game 3 but went 0-for-3 on the man advantage, including a chance to win the game in regulation after Sean Kuraly was called for cross checking at 17:45 of the third period.

That still left the Islanders a respectable 3-for-9 on the power play through the first three games, including 2-for-3 in a 4-3 overtime win in Game 2 at TD Garden.

But the Bruins went 3-for-6 on the man advantage through the first three games, including 2-for-2 in Game 1.

"We’ve had a couple we’d like back," said Cal Clutterbuck, a key penalty killer. "But it’s a good power play and they evolve over the course of a two-minute power play, especially if you give them some zone time. Just trying to make sure we bear down on our clears and try to win our draws when we get out there. Just trying to force them to dump it, get it back and clear it again."

"They have a ton of skill out there and they have a lot of different looks," said defenseman Adam Pelech, another key penalty killer. "It’s not just one play. It’s not just two plays. There’s a lot of ways they can hurt you. I think we’ve done an OK job. A couple of big kills [in Game 3]. There were some dicey moments, but we got the job done. Some good goaltending helped. There’s definitely ways we can improve. Special teams are going to be a big part of this series moving forward so it’s important we continue to improve."

The best penalty kill, of course, is not taking penalties so discipline is another crucial detail. The Islanders have done a fairly good job of that throughout the playoffs, allowing 18 power plays through their first nine postseason games while getting 22. But the Bruins’ two power plays in Game 3 both came in the third period.

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.