John Tavares was born in 1990, nearly a decade after the Islanders Stanley Cup run ended.
Yet the Islanders captain has played at the Coliseum long enough to know what those teams did and he has tried to use that to his advantage as many former players visited the building during the building's final season.
"The respect I have for those guys is very high," Tavares said after Tuesday's practice before the team traveled to Washington for Wednesday's Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Capitals. "You make sure you take the time to talk to them about what it was like. It was a different era and times, but you can definitely learn from what they have to say about what it took to achieve that."
One of the former players he stopped was Denis Potvin.
"Obviously, with him being the captain, you want to find out firsthand what kind of leader he was," Tavares said. "And Butch [Goring] is around. You see their pictures with the Cup all over the place in here, so it's hard not to think about what those teams meant to this league and these fans."
The upcoming playoff series against Washington will be just the second of Tavares' career. He set career highs this season in goals (38) and points (86), but his focus is elsewhere now.
He would like to make his first postseason run. And while he thinks the Isles are ready to finally make some headway in the postseason, Tavares also understands their words don't mean much.
"We believe that we are [ready], but we've got to go out there and do it," Tavares said. "We obviously want to win the series. But we're thinking about one game at a time. It's just about trying to focus on that. We believe in our team and we believe we can beat anybody."
Not everyone agrees, a fact not lost on coach Jack Capuano.
"Everyone is picking Washington," Capuano said. "I like being the underdog. I'll stress it a little bit. … For us, we might be the underdog, but I'm stressing how good of a team we are."
The islanders will find out soon enough whose expectations are correct.
In the meantime, Kyle Okposo isn't buying the narrative.
"We had the same exact number of points as they did, so I don't see why we're the underdogs," said Okposo, who added the team wasn't satisfied just making the playoffs. "We had a pretty successful year and want to carry that into the playoffs. We want to go deep, make a run and hoist that trophy at the end."
First, though, they have to beat the Caps. And if that's going to happen, Tavares likely will lead them.
"I think everyone is prepared for this time of year," Tavares said. "I don't think much needs to be said."
Against Pittsburgh two years ago, Tavares scored three goals and had a pair of assists in the six-game series. Capuano is confident Tavares can do even more this time around.
"I think you learn from experience," Capuano said. "Obviously, as captain you need to lead on the ice and off the ice and that's what he does."
Tavares said he hopes to recreate at least some of the success the Islanders had three decades ago.
"Those dynasty years, they were historic teams," Tavares said. "You appreciate that, admire it and strive for it. It would be unbelievable to win a Stanley Cup, let alone four in a row. You look around here and dream of doing something like that."
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