TAMPA, Fla. — Alan Quine was sitting there, shaking his head, smiling.
“No,” he kept saying. “I couldn’t have expected it.”
The 23-year-old Islanders forward is in a rare place as the team gets into its second-round series against the Lightning. He is in the realm of folk hero, a minor-league call-up who turns into a key contributor at the most important time.
“Oh, it’s … it’s special,” Quine told The Post on Wednesday morning, before recording an assist and a team-high five hits as the Islanders captured Game 1 by a 5-3 final. “It’s hard to describe. It’s happened so fast I haven’t really sat down to really think about it and digest it that much.”
The Islanders had not won a playoff series in 23 years when they faced the Atlantic Division-winning Panthers in the first round, and there was Quine, scoring the game-winner in double-overtime of Game 5.
“It was probably the best moment of my life, to date,” Quine said.
And there was Quine in Game 1, making a slick through-the-legs move to set up what would be the game-winning goal from Ryan Strome early in the third period. And there was Quine at the start of Game 2, being bumped up by coach Jack Capuano to skate as the left wing next to superstar John Tavares on the team’s top line.
Quite a change from just three weeks ago, when Quine was no more than a sixth-round draft pick from 2013, a middling prospect plying his trade for AHL Bridgeport.
“It’s a big change,” he said with nod and a smirk. “It was a pretty long year in the American League. I’ve been there for a few years now. The goal, obviously, is to develop so that if you get called up, you can make an impression.”
The impression didn’t have long to settle in, either. Quine was called up on April 9 and made his NHL debut later that night against the Sabres. He was part of a crew that was called up to fill roster spots as the Islanders rested a few regulars before the start of the playoffs, but Quine started to make a difference right away.
“I think he’s got to open some eyes,” Capuano said.
The following night, Quine played again in the regular-season finale. Afterward, as the rest of the call-up crew went back to the minors, Quine stayed. Then Capuano wrote his name in the lineup for the postseason opener, sending a message to his team that it was meritocracy, and no ice time was being guaranteed.
“I think it’s just exciting to add a piece like that, one maybe no one really thought of,” Tavares said. “It’s amazing how it can work for some guys. So it’s just exciting to have someone like that.”
What’s really been most amazing is the way Quine has dealt with all the pressure and the spotlight of the big moments. He hasn’t hesitated in making plays with puck or taking chances or getting his nose right into the mix with the big bodies at the front of the net.
“He’s tenacious,” Tavares said. “He doesn’t shy away from the moment and the opportunity. It’s not an easy spot when you come in and play your first couple games in the league in the last couple games [of the regular season], then play a pretty significant role in the playoffs. So he’s really been called upon and he’s stepped up.”
Capuano was not exactly surprised by Quine’s skill, which he had seen in previous training camps. But he has been impressed with the way Quine has handled himself on this stage.
“Has he surprised me? Yeah,” Capuano said. “But he surprised me in the mental side of the game and how he’s handled himself as a pro.”
As the Islanders won the second-round series opener, as the Stanley Cup inched closer into view, Quine was there with his team, pushing to keep his dream going. He wasn’t trying to see the big picture, knowing there would be a time and place for reflection. One that was far from right now.
“I think every day has to be, ‘I’m just here to play hockey,’” he said. “You have all kinds of time to think about it later. Now it’s time to focus on the task at hand.”