Nikita Kucherov claimed the NHL’s playoff goal-scoring lead with his third period tally, but defenceman Victor Hedman was the big story in the Lightning’s 4-0 victory.
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The Tampa Bay Lightning take Game 4 against the New York Islanders by a score of 2-1.
And, uh, to further the speculation… the last time the the Lightning and Islanders met in the post-season – another five-game series – Tampa went on to win the Stanley Cup.
The New York Islanders congratulate the Tampa Bay Lightning at the end of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference semifinals Sunday, May 8, 2016, in Tampa, Fla.
The Lightning advanced by winning four straight after dropping the series opener at home.
“All year, we knew we had a good team”, Callahan said.
Wrecking what was left of the Isles’ spirit, Hedman made it 3-0 4:22 into the second period, slapping home a power play goal off Johnny Boychuk’s leg after a setup from series revelation and prodigal prospect Jonathan Drouin.
“It’s hard to beat that team when you only score one goal”, Capuano said.
“When we got that one, you could tell on our bench we had a good feeling of what could happen”, Cooper said.
Yes, the Lightning had arguably the easiest bracket in the Atlantic Division and will have to be better in the conference final, whether they play the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Washington Capitals.
The Islanders appeared to be heading for a win to tie the Eastern Conference series after Kyle Okposo gave them the lead early in the first period on Friday.
“There’s no real panic button anymore”, Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. He can start a forecheck, starts the rush and he can come back and finish [opponents’] rushes and close them out, then get up ice and do it again. You want to be at your best in the playoffs.
The 6-foot-7 Bishop earned his fifth career playoff shutout, fourth in the deciding game of a series.
Now, after falling behind in their second-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Islanders know they’ll have to keep it up to have a chance to advance to the conference finals. A native of Sweden, Hedman collected four goals and eight points over the five-game series, and two of the goals came in Tampa’s 4-0 series-clinching victory. De Haan eventually picked up a stick but accidentally screened goalie Thomas Greiss (20 saves) as Garrison’s slap shot sailed into the net.
But if their season ends in this series, the Islanders will likely lament their inability to generate more offense Friday.
The Islanders had a tough 1st period, and just couldn’t get into a groove. In 26 playoff games last postseason, he had one goal and 13 assists for 14 points, and was a plus-11.
“He’s done it all for us”, Boyle said. Teammate Brian Boyle scored a highlight-reel goal at 18:41 of the first.
The Islanders got a step closer, but they’re not necessarily closer to challenging seriously for the Stanley Cup than they were three years ago in the aftermath of the 2013 first-round defeat to the Penguins.
Kucherov capped the scoring with a goal at 4:40 of the third period on a breakaway.
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This team is getting so much out of their top players, which makes a huge difference in the playoffs. You don’t move on without having your best players be your best players. “The reality is that we’re fortunate to have two guys right now in Matt and Marc that we feel strongly about both goalies and their ability to help us win”.
