Islanders coach Barry Trotz on changing hotels: 'It's sort of welcome'
Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders argues a first period call during the game against the Washington Capitals in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 12, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Credit: Getty Images/Elsa
Traffic on the way back from practice to their new hotel forced the Islanders’ scheduled Zoom call with the media to be delayed an hour. The Isles changed hotels after advancing to the second round, which has shaken things up inside the bubble a bit.
“It's sort of welcome,’’ coach Barry Trotz said of the change. “I think, at this point in time, a little change is probably good. Getting us out of our comfort zone a little bit, it's not a bad thing. It gets you out of certain routines, but I think we're okay.
“Our goal was to make it through the [first round] series and get over here,’’ he said. “And you know we've got other goals in front of us now.’’
If the Isles make it out of the second round and advance to the Eastern Conference final, they’ll be changing hotels again, and changing bubbles, moving from Toronto to Edmonton.
Trotz: It's part of the game
Trotz didn’t seem to be all that shaken up the news that after losing to the Islanders in the first round series, the Capitals fired head coach Todd Reirden, who had been Trotz’s associate head coach in 2018, when the Caps won the Stanley Cup.
“It's part of what you sign up [for] as a coach, and, you know, that's what you accept when you become a head coach in the National Hockey League,’’ Trotz said, when asked about Reirden. “So, I just wish him well.’’
AV: Our team has found another level
Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said he has not watched any video of the three regular season games the Islanders and Flyers played, because those games were so long ago.
The Islanders won all three.
“Our team has changed,’’ Vigneault said. “Our team has found another level, and I believe still can find another level. I’ve watched their games against Florida and I’ve watched, obviously, their games in the last playoff round against Washington. It gives us a good idea of how they’re going to play.’’
Isles files
Trotz said everyone practice, including Cal Clutterbuck, who did not play in Game 5 against Washington . . . Flyers D Matt Niskanen is eligible to return to the lineup after serving a one-game suspension in Philadelphia’s Game 6 win over Montreal.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
