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 Islanders captain John Tavares cemented his status in franchise
lore Sunday night, when he scored in the final minute of regulation
to force overtime and then scored the winning goal with 9:19 left in
the second overtime Sunday night to give New York a 2-1 win in Game
6 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at Barclays Center.
The Islanders' third overtime win -- and second double-overtime win
in as many games -- gave them a 4-2 series win. New York will face
the Tampa Bay Lightning in the conference semifinals later this
week.
"We want to enjoy tonight, but we want to keep this thing going,"
Tavares said. "We've got a special group. We believe we can do
something special."
The postseason series win is the first for the Islanders since 1993
-- so long ago the NHL had just 24 teams and still went by
traditional hockey names for its divisions and conferences. The
Islanders beat the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins --
with the latter series concluding May 14, 1993 -- that spring to
emerge from the Patrick Division before falling to the eventual
Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens in the Wales Conference
finals.
 "It's been a long time coming, honestly," Islanders right winger Cal
Clutterbuck said. "It's just good to be the team that kind of allows
people to enjoy the moment, to get over that hump."
Clutterbuck said he and his teammates would revel in the moment as
well -- for a little while, at least.
"We've got a lot of work to do," Clutterbuck said. "We're trying to
win the Stanley Cup."
For 59 minutes, it appeared as if the series would go to a decisive
seventh game Tuesday night in Florida. Panthers center Jonathan
Huberdeau scored with 62 seconds left in the first period and goalie
Roberto Luongo stopped the first 30 shots he faced.
With Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss pulled for the extra attacker,
Matt Martin and Nikolay Kulemin fired shots that were turned back by
Luongo. But he was sprawled face down on the ice as the puck
skittered to his right and Tavares swooped in and put it home with
52.3 seconds left.
"He's a star player in this league and he comes up big when he has
to," Panthers head coach Gerard Gallant said of Tavares.
Luongo made 15 saves during a first overtime in which the Islanders
had plenty of chances to score the game-winner.
"It just felt the longer that game went on, the worse it was going
to be for us, because I thought we were outplaying them," Islanders
right winger Kyle Okposo said.
Okposo helped end the game in the second overtime. As he skated down
the right side of the ice, Okposo said he heard Tavares call for the
puck. Okposo passed to Tavares, whose shot was deflected by Luongo.
But Luongo came out far to the right of the net to make the save.
Tavares picked up the loose puck, skated around the back of the net
and tucked it into the open left corner.
"Once he picked it up behind the net, I think I raised my hands,"
Okposo said. "I kind of saw the whole play happening. It was pretty
cool to have a front row seat to that."
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The goal set off a deafening celebration at Barclays Center, where
the Islanders moved this season following 43 years at Nassau
Coliseum.
"Euphoria -- you can't even really process it," Tavares said. "It
was obviously amazing to look around and see all the orange and blue
(towels waving). Just incredible."
The long-awaited series win comes in the final year before longtime
owner Charles Wang cedes ownership to Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin.
"For us to get by that first round, it's a proud moment for him -
seeing him after the game and seeing how excited he was," Islanders
head coach Jack Capuano said. "It's a good feeling for these guys."
Greiss, who played all six games after entering this season with
just one playoff appearance, made 41 saves.
Luongo made 49 saves for the Panthers, who now inherit the
Islanders' mantle as the longest-suffering team in the NHL. Florida,
which won the Atlantic Division this season, has not won a
postseason series since it reached the Stanley Cup in 1996.
The Panthers lost despite trailing for just 45:54 of the 439 minutes
and 12 seconds the series lasted. They didn't trail in Games 3 and 6
until allowing the game-winning goals in overtime.
"I thought we were in control of the series most nights," Gallant
said. I thought we were the better team most nights. The hockey gods
weren't with us.
"I'm giving the Islanders credit. They played a great game, played a
great series. I thought we played a good series."
NOTES: The Islanders scratched C Mikhail Grabovski (concussion), G
Jaroslav Halak (lower body), C Anders Lee (broken leg), D Ryan
Pulock (upper body) and D Brian Strait (upper body) as well as LW
Eric Boulton, G Christopher Gibson, D Adam Pelech and RW Ryan
Strome. ... The Panthers scratched C Nick Bjugstad (upper body) and
D Steven Kampfer (ankle) as well as C Quinton Howden, D Jakub Kindl
and C Greg McKegg. Bjugstad, who appeared to sustain a head injury
in the second overtime Friday, did not travel to New York.
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