Lou Lamoriello showed his commitment to the Islanders’ aging core by standing pat at the March trade deadline.

But all year when asked about head coach Barry Trotz’s contract — which was expiring at the end of the 2022-23 season — Lamoriello demurred. And on Monday morning, in a stunning move, Lamoriello fired the Jack Adams Award winner in a tacit admission that something had to change following a season in which the Islanders failed to come close to meeting their preseason Stanley Cup goal.

“I believe this group of players needs a new voice,” Lamoriello said on a conference call with media. “This is not negative on Barry Trotz. He is a tremendous human being.”

As for the assistant coaches — a group that includes associate coach  Lane Lambert and goaltending coach Mitch Korn, people who have worked with Trotz for a long period — Lamoriello would only say they were under contract for next season, though the new coach will have a say in whether that remains the case. Lamoriello did not commit to a timetable for the hire.

The resiliency, the no-quit fire and the insatiable desire to be a winning club has been at the heart of the Rangers all season long. 

And that is why this Rangers team was able to rally from a 3-1 series deficit, stave off elimination twice and then force overtime in Game 7 before Artemi Panarin punched their ticket to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs 4:46 into the extra period to secure a 4-3 win over the Penguins in front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden. 

This Rangers team is the first in Stanley Cup playoff history to record three consecutive comeback wins in elimination games within the same series 

This Rangers team became just the third in franchise history to overcome a 3-1 series deficit. 

Nico Ali Walsh entered the same ring where his grandfather, Muhammad Ali, shared some of his greatest moments.

And just like his grandfather, Ali Walsh exited the Madison Square Garden ring a winner.

Ali Walsh, 21, defeated Reyes Sanchez, to improve to 3-0 in his young boxing career. It was the first time one of his fights went the distance, coming out on top via majority decision. It marked the first loss of Sanchez’s career, who entered the night 6-0.

“It was an honor to fight here,” Ali Walsh said after the fight. “I’m just looking to build off every single fight. I’m looking to learn and improve every single fight. I’ve already reached the pinnacle having fought here.”

Fifty years after his grandfather’s famous “Fight of the Century” at MSG, another Ali has his Garden moment.