Brian Boyle doubled the Lightning’s advantage just five minutes later on the back of some fine work from Matthew Carle and Cedric Paquette, to hand the home side a two-goal cushion heading into the second intermission.
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It wasn’t until after the halfway point in the first period, but the Tampa Bay Lightning would be the first team to draw blood. For the New York Islanders this season has come to a close after their 4-0 loss in Game 5 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“Back to back, it’s pretty impressive what our guys have done”, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said.
Johnny Boychuk had the best opportunity at an open net in the first five minutes of the third. The Lightning won consecutive playoff games in overtime for the first time since Games 2 and 3 of the 1996 Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Philadelphia Flyers. No shots hit Ben Bishop there but Tavares hit the post, a cruel echo of his post in Game 4 that might have changed that game’s outcome.
Twelve minutes in penalties would be assessed over the course of the second period. “It’s all the other things that he had to slowly learn”, Cooper said.
None of them was the equal of Nikita Kucherov, a second-round pick in the 2011 draft who scored his league-leading ninth playoff goal Sunday For the Islanders, all of the heat landed squarely on Tavares, who last had a point in the second period of Game 1, the last victory of 2015-16. Either way, it’s 3-0 Lightning.
The Swede worked some space for himself before dispatching a wrist shot beyond Thomas Greiss in the Islanders goal. Star forward John Tavares was shut out for the fourth straight game, and the Islanders lost their fourth straight game.
Here is where the intensity really turned up.
They may need it against the Pittsburgh Penguins or Washington Capitals, who will quickly become the toughest test of the Lightning’s postseason run since last year’s Cup Final series against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Islanders now had their backs against the wall.
Then, not five minutes into the third period, Johnny Boychuk had a chance to bring the Islanders within 3-1 when the puck caromed off the glass behind Bishop and bounced onto Boychuk’s stick. Slowly, they would make their way to the edge of their seats. The Islanders are built differently, and they were plenty competitive and fun to watch this season, but they’re no closer to figuring out the solution – if not further away. Unfortunately for the Islanders, it simply wouldn’t be enough to overcome the difference in score.
Finally, the buzzer would sound and the Tampa Bay Lightning would taste sweet victory. Now, the Lightning can take some time to heal their bodies and prepare themselves for the next challenge.
For the fans, it is something they been waiting a lifetime to see.
Hedman jumped into the play for a surprise snipe to start the scoring in the first period.
It seemed like every time Tampa beat the Islanders defense, Ben Bishop – who had 27 saves, many of them spectacular, had an answer. There are no words to accurately describe how much Bishop’s skill has meant to the Lightning; especially in the postseason. NY wasn’t great on the road this season but they are going to have to find a way to win two of their next three games on the road if they’re going to continue their chase for a Stanley Cup title.
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Coming into the series with the Lightning you would have had to think, if the Islanders had any chance of making into the Conference Finals they were going to need secondary scoring.
