New York Islanders center John Tavares was on Toronto’s Sportsnet 590 on Tuesday afternoon.

On being able to deliver the series-clinching goal in double overtime against the Florida Panthers in the first round of the playoffs:

“It was a great moment, I think, for our fan base, first and foremost. They’ve been through a lot. When you don’t win enough playoff series – I believe it was 23 years for the last playoff series win – it’s been a long time. They’re most loyal and faithful fans in the game of hockey. They truly are very passionate about their team and for us to finally be able to get over that hump, it was definitely a great feeling.

“So many guys stepped up. So many guys played well. I was fortunate enough to score the winning goal to seal it, but I really didn’t have my best game. So it’s funny how one moment can kind of change things. It’s something you dream about, being able to score a series-clincher, especially in overtime. So for us, hopefully we’ve got a few more of those and can take some more steps going forward.”

On what his favorite part of playing in Toronto two years from now will be:

“(Laughs) I would not count on that. I think I’ve always showed my commitment, my appreciation, and my desire to play on Long Island. I would love for that to continue for the long haul. I think you look at (how) some of the greatest players in the game have been able to spend their entire careers somewhere, and I hope I’m in that same position.

“Obviously being from Toronto, people are going to make those connections and it is what it is. It’s nothing I can control. I just want to go out there and be the best player, best person I can be for the Islanders day in and day out. I’m just going to focus on tomorrow and the upcoming season.”

On how the back of his hockey card could just say ‘Islanders’ for his whole career, but it could be Queens or Brooklyn or Nassau – they’re all over the place:

“Yeah, obviously there’s a lot of stuff floating out there. But I’ve always told people until you’ve played there, or been there, been around the team, been around the organization and our fan base – you really don’t know what it’s like.

“There’s a lot of opinions that are really far off, don’t really have a good pulse of what’s going on, and what the organization is all about. They drafted me there, gave me a great opportunity to play this game that I love, and fulfil my dream. Obviously have put a lot of high expectations to me, and I don’t take that lightly. I’ve always enjoyed being there from Day One.

“So I would love to see it through and obviously lift the Stanley Cup there.”

Source: Sportsnet 590/ Transcript: Nichols