Coming off a big team win in Game 3, the Tampa Bay Lightning looked to take a stranglehold on the series entering Saturday’s Game 4. However, they fell inches short in a 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders, evening the series at two games apiece.
Game Flow
Period 1:
The Lightning came out of the gates with lots of jump. They had a couple of great chances to open the scoring which were quickly swallowed up by Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov. This included an outstanding power move by Alex Killorn that was shut down by Varlamov.
About midway through the period, the Isles got their game going. They hit a few posts and had one chance to get behind Bolts goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy but not cross the goal line.
Instead of getting frustrated, the Islanders stuck with the process. A roughing call to Cal Clutterbuck at 12:46 gave the Lightning a power play. The Isles got the best scoring chance, however, with a Tampa Bay turnover leading to a shorthanded breakaway by Leo Komarov. Thankfully Vasilevskiy got a piece of the shot, keeping things scoreless.
Period 2:
Fresh off an okay but not great period, the Lightning needed to raise their level of play. They didn’t come close to doing that, as the Islanders took it to them. In a reversal of the first period, the Bolts trailed 17-9 in shots on goal.
It was only a matter of time before the Isles scored. Brock Nelson found the puck inside the offensive zone and, seeing two defenders bearing down, spun around to buy himself more time. He then passed the puck over to Josh Bailey who beat Vasilevskiy high on the glove side, making it 1-0 Islanders.
Eight minutes later, they struck again. With Brayden Point down a stick, Mathew Barzal was able to pounce on a rebound off a Kyle Palmieri shot and fire it into the open side of the net. That made it 2-0.
As that goal went in, Palmieri and Mikhail Sergachev were jousting to the right of Vasilevskiy. Both players were penalized, leading to some 4-on-4 hockey. That lasted less than a minute before a boarding penalty on Erik Cernak gave the Isles a 4-on-3 power play. While unable to break through, New York maintained momentum by keeping the puck in the offensive zone and firing shots on net.
Less than two minutes after Cernak was released from the box, the Islanders cashed in again. A close play at the red line led to Matt Martin’s game-winning goal to make it 3-0. Lightning coach Jon Cooper challenged the call for offsides but lost, sending his team back to the penalty kill. Served by Tyler Johnson, the Bolts kill came through late to give themselves a chance to come back.
Period 3:
Entering the final frame, the Lightning needed to lay it all on the line and take risks to generate offense. They did that right from the get-go and, after coming away unscathed early, they were finally able to solve Varlamov. Brayden Point continued his hot streak, scoring to make it 3-1.
Nearly three minutes later, Tyler Johnson took a pass from Nikita Kucherov and made moves to get past the defense before roofing the puck over Varlamov’s shoulder. That cut the Islanders lead to one, forcing bench boss Barry Trotz to take his timeout so the team could regroup.
That helped, as the Isles shut the Lightning down until late. With Vasilevskiy off for the extra attacker, Victor Hedman got into a foot race with Clutterbuck and was called for tripping. That sent New York to the power play. They struggled to get set up and ended up giving the Bolts easy access into the offensive zone. Ryan McDonagh made a move to pull Varlamov out of position, but a sliding block by Ryan Pulock in the goal crease saved a sure goal and put the series back on even footing.
Game Notes
- Brayden Point’s third period score extended his goal streak to seven games. That’s the longest goal-scoring streak since Claude Lemieux in 1997.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves on 30 shots, allowing three goals against for the first time this series.
- The Islanders scored three goals on the Lightning for the first time since 2019.
- Point paces the NHL with 12 goals in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
- Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves to earn his 17th playoff win with the Islanders.
Next Up
With the series even at two, the Lightning hope to take back control of the series in Game 5. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 PM EST on Monday night.