Games
New York Islanders 5 - Tampa Bay Lightning 3
The scoring started early in this game. Tampa Bay's pressure culminated with Ondrej Palat beating Thomas Greiss with a one-timer from the high slot. New York wouldn't be down for long though, as Travis Hamonic's shot from the boards found its way past Ben Bishop, tying the game. The Islanders turned up the pressure midway through the period, and managed to get two powerplays for their efforts. Despite having the man advantage on two different occasions, New York could not take advantage of them. It was the Prince show late in the first period. The Islanders forward redirected a pass from Ryan Strome under Bishop's pads and into the net to make it 2-1 New York. Prince then one-timed a shot past Bishop with three seconds left in the period. The first ended with the Islanders up 3-1. The Lightning would control play to start the second, but even with a powerplay, could not close the gap on the scoreboard. John Tavares had a nice sequence midway through the period, first drawing a penalty, then scoring on the ensuing powerplay. That goal spelled the end of Bishop's night, as Andrei Vasilevskiy would relieve him in net. A late powerplay for New York resulted in nothing. The second period closed with the Islanders up 4-1. Play went back-and-forth for a bit before the Lightning started to take control. They managed to get one back midway through the period, thanks to a one-timer by Nikita Kucherov. There was a bit of a scare moments later, when the puck went into the Islander bench and struck head coach Jack Capuano. He would go to the back for a couple minutes and managed to return to the bench. Tampa Bay stayed in control of the puck, looking to pull to within a goal. Greiss stood on his head though, doing what he could to keep the puck out of the net. The Lightning's effort did pay off late in the game, with Valtteri Filppula batting in his own rebound. That was all Tampa Bay would get, as Cal Clutterbuck added an empty netter to seal it for New York. The Islanders took Game 1 5-3, giving them a 1-0 series lead.
New York Islanders 1 - Tampa Bay Lightning 4
Tampa Bay would get an early powerplay, but could not capitalize on it. Moments after though, Lightning struck, as Tyler Johnson finished off a 2-on-1 by backhanding the puck past Greiss. Six minutes later, Tampa Bay's lead was extended. Jonathan Drouin received a pass, dangled through the slot, and tucked a backhander between Greiss' pads to make it 2-0. The Islanders attack started to heat up, and drew a penalty for their efforts. Nikolay Kulemin made good on the man advantage, tipping Thomas Hickey's point shot past Bishop to pull New York to within a goal. The Islanders kept at it, but could not tie the game before the period ended, resulting in the Lightning being up 2-1 after one. Penalties were exchanged in the second, with both teams unable to do much with their respective powerplays. midway through the second, Tampa Bay would find themselves back on the powerplay. they made good on this attempt. Victor Hedman's point shot banked off an Islander defender and into the New York net. That ended up being the only goal of the period, as the Lightning were up 3-1 after 40 minutes. Tampa Bay was in control for the first half of the third period thanks to coincidental minors opening up the ice. Despite dominating 4-on-4, the Lightning could not add to their lead. It didn't deter their attempts though, as Tampa Bay kept outshooting New York. Johnson would add an empty netter to seal it. The game ended roughly, with multiple offsetting minors getting called in the last minute of play. The final buzzer would eventually happen, as Tampa Bay took the game 4-1 to tie the series.
Tampa Bay Lightning 5 - New York Islanders 4 (OT)
This time, it was New York who managed to open the scoring. Eight minutes into the game, Josh Bailey roofed one over Bishop and into the net. They would get a powerplay moments later, but the Islanders could not extend their lead on the man advantage. Both teams would exchange chances, but it wasn't until late in the period when another goal was scored. Ryan Callahan tipped a point shot from Alex Killorn into the Islanders' net, tying the game. The first period ended with the game tied 1-1. New York had a couple of powerplays early in the second, giving them a chance to regain the lead. It didn't happen though, as Tampa Bay managed to kill off both of their man disadvantages. Midway through the period, Johnson won an offensive zone faceoff back to Hedman. The Lightning defender one-timed the puck, and watched it go past Greiss and into the net. Tampa Bay kept it up, looking to extend their lead, but could not do so. New York managed to responded, with Nick Leddy scoring with a point shot of his own to tie the game. Shots were exchanged but the game would remained tied 2-2 after the second period. Scoring happened early in the third. An Islanders powerplay saw Bailey add his second of the game. New York's 3-2 lead lasted all of 58 seconds, as Vladislav Namestnikov snapped one home to tie the game. It stayed tied until midway through the period. The puck would find Clutterbuck in the slot, and he had all day to line up his shot and find the back of the net. Bailey had a chance to complete his hat trick moments later, but his shot was gloved by Bishop. Finding themselves down once again, Tampa Bay pressed to find another equalizer. It would come late in the game, as Drouin found Kucherov in the slot. Kucherov got his shot off quickly, and managed to beat Greiss. The period wound down, with both teams tied 4-4, overtime was needed to decided a winner. The extra period would be a short one. Hedman's shot missed the net, but bounced to the other side where Brian Boyle was standing. Boyle buried it before Greiss slid over to attempt to save the shot. It wasn't without some controversy, as moments before Boyle hit Martin late, which got the Islanders up an arms as a penalty was not called. It was reviewed for offside, but nothing come of it. Tampa Bay won the game 5-4, putting them up 2-1 in the series.
Tampa Bay Lightning 2 - New York Islanders 1 (OT)
A penalty by Tampa Bay early in the game gave New York the chance to open the scoring. Kyle Okposo's first chance was stopped, but made good on his second chance moment later, finding the back of the net. The Islanders kept up the pressure, getting multiple chances to extend their lead. Bishop (and his goalpost) did what he could to keep the Lighting close. He managed to do just that, as the score remined 1-0 for New York after 20 minutes. Greiss had a minor problem early in the second, with the blade falling out of his right skate. That forced Jean-Francois Berube into the Islanders net for a few minutes. He did well in his 4:47 minutes of play, stopping all two shots he faced. Greiss would take back the net once his skate was fixed. Tampa Bay showed a bit more life in the second (thanks to three powerplays), but still could not find their way onto the scoreboard. New York got a couple chances of their own, but Bishop remained solid. The 1-0 scoreline held up after two periods of play. The Islanders controlled play early in the third, but were still unsuccessful in extending their lead. Once play shifted in the Lightning's favour, they would tie the game. Kucherov's shot found just enough space under Greiss' blocker, hitting the back of the net to tie the game. Both teams couldn't get much on net for the rest of the period. For the second straight game, it was tied after regulation, meaning an extra period was going to be played. The Lightning once again kept overtime short, as a blast from Jason Garrison found the back of the net a minute-and-a-half into the period. Tampa Bay's 2-1 win made the series 3-1 for them, putting them one game closer to the next round.
New York Islanders 0 - Tampa Bay Lightning 4
Shots would be exchanged early in the first, but it wasn't until the later half of the period when the opening goal was scored. A bouncing puck would find Hedman, who turned and shot the puck past a screened Greiss. It didn't stop there, as near the end of the period, Boyle roofed one mover Greiss and into the net. Tampa Bay finished the first period up 2-0. An early powerplay helped the Lightning extend their lead, with Hedman blasting his second of the game into the Islander net. New York had a little spurt of offense in the period, but there best chance might have been when Hedman lost the puck and it skirted across the crease, jut missing Bishop, who might have accidently hit the puck in the wrong direction. The period was Tampa Bay's for the most part, but Boyle's remained their lone goal of the second. The Lightning headed into the second intermission up 3-0. New York came out firing in the third, but even with a powerplay (and a dog pile in the crease), failed to find the back of the net. Just under five minutes into the period, Kucherov would find himself on a breakaway. He converted on the chance, going five-hole on Greiss. The Islanders did what they could to try and break the shutout, but Bishop was having none of it. The Lightning goaltender ended up stopping 28 shots, as Tampa Bay shut out New York 4-0. The win was Tampa Bay's fourth of the series, as they now move on to the third round.
Three Thoughts on the Series
- Minus the two high-scoring games, the Islanders just could not finish.
- Have to give some love to Greiss. At times it looked like he was the whole team.
- Hedman was great this series, stopping Tavares' line on defense and racking up the points on offense.
The aftermath of getting hit in the face with a puck.
Highlight of the Series
It was hard to pick between all the highlight saves between Bishop and Greiss. So lets go in the opposite direction: Brain Boyle's Game 3 overtime winner.
(video via Sportsnet)
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