Islanders hold on to even series
N.Y. scores three goals in second, then survives Tampa Bay’s late surge
Matt Martin capped New York’s three-goal second period, Ryan Pulock made a diving stop in front of an open goal in the closing seconds and the Islanders held on to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 Saturday night to even their Stanley Cup semifinal series at two games apiece.
Josh Bailey and Mathew Barzal also scored, and Cal Clutterbuck and Adam Pelech each had two assists. Semyon Varlamov finished with 28 saves to help the Islanders win a Game 4 to tie a series after dropping the previous game at home for the third time this postseason.
Brayden Point had a goal for the seventh straight game, and Tyler Johnson also scored for the defending champion Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 27 saves.
Game 5 is Monday night in Tampa, Florida, with Game 6 back at Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday night.
The Lightning pulled Vasilevskiy for an extra skater with about 1:50 left, but he returned to the ice 38 seconds later when Victor Hedman was called for tripping Clutterbuck to give the Islanders a power play.
Tampa Bay’s Ryan Mcdonagh had the puck on the left side in the waning seconds, spun around to get away from Brock Nelson and drew Varlamov forward before sending the puck at the open net. But Pulock’s dive kept the puck out and preserved the win.
Vasilevskiy gave up his most goals since he allowed four in Game 4 of the second round against Carolina. He had a shutout in the series-clinching Game 5 and then had limited the Islanders to five goals in the first three games of this series.
Note: Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin won the Lady Byng Memorial trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct, becoming the fourth blue-liner to win the award. The 27-yearold from Denver received 73 of 100 first-place votes submitted by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon was second, followed by Toronto forward Auston Matthews. Slavin had three goals and 15 points while averaging a team-high 22:59 minutes over 52 games this season. He was assessed just one penalty for delay of game (puck over the glass), while facing opposing teams’ top lines. Florida’s Brian Campbell in 2012 was the last defenseman to earn the honor, which was first presented following the 1924-25 season. Red Kelly was a three-time winner, including once as a forward. Bill Quackenbush, in 1949 with Detroit, is the other defensemen to have won.