They had no chance. Not without their best player, who was injured by a vicious cheapshot that got its perpetrator suspended for 20 games. Not against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, who had won 14 straight playoff games across two seasons. Not against the league’s most stacked offensive team since the Gretzky era Oilers.
Facing the Penguins in the second round of the 1993 playoffs, the Islanders were expected to be a speed bump on the way to a third consecutive Cup for Pittsburgh. But by never quitting, even when down in the series, the scrappy Islanders staged an upset for the ages.