The Tampa Bay Lightning are one victory away from reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year, and they know it won’t be easy to close out their second-round playoff series against the New York Islanders.
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Enter Victor Hedman, the 6-foot-6 defenseman who proved he can do just about everything during the Eastern Conference Second Round series against the New York Islanders. It may have taken them through the halfway point in the period, but finally, the Lightning’s persistence paid off as Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov buried the puck in the back of the net and opened the door for the Lightning to take the second game in a row into overtime.
And yes, the down time accompanying a short series win would serve the Lightning well, especially if the Washington Capitals find a way to extend the other conference semi-final against Pittsburgh and that punishing war continues. The Islanders had knocked off the No. 2 seed Florida Panthers in a riveting first-round series, and after a 5-3 victory here at Amalie Arena in Game 1, a run to the next round appeared possible. The series isn’t over until one team wins four games. Lightning coach Jon Cooper hoped Stralman would be ready for Game 4 or 5 of the second round.
“The game that we won (here), we were able to build a little bit of a lead, if we have the opportunities, we have to bury them, make it a little tough on them, just got to stay positive and keep working”, Tavares said. “We have to just get a win tomorrow”, John Tavares said. The Lightning would have had to come back for the third game in a row.
The Lightning opened a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Hedman and Boyle in which both players simply outworked defenders. “That could’ve changed the type of game especally (since) we didn’t have too much going”.
Sunday’s defeat has ushered in what should be a busy offseason for the Islanders, with numerous important decisions to make.
“We’ve been in elimination situations before, we fought them off and then a couple of times where we weren’t as successful”, Tavares said. “Playing on home ice, you want to have that extra jump, and I thought the whole team played fast and we got everyone involved on offense”.
Maybe the Islanders hadn’t been here since the second year of the first Clinton presidential term, but eight teams get to the second round every spring and few remember.
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Notes: After playing 26 of a possible 28 games during last year’s playoff run, it has only taken the Lightning 10 games to get back to the Eastern Conference final….
