LIGHTNING DRIVING FOR BACK-TO-BACK TITLES
Defending champs ride hot goaltender, stout defence to grab series lead over Isles
Every player in the National Hockey League steps onto the ice for his first shift in the regular-season opener with one long-term goal in mind.
Win the Stanley Cup.
Not only does that drive every man who has never hoisted the Cup, it provides another level of motivation for those who have sipped out of the big silver mug.
Which brings us to the 2020 Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
“It's a hard league to win in and you don't take winning for granted,” Tampa coach Jon Cooper said on Thursday morning. “But are you satisfied, content, full with winning? Is that it? Just do it once and be one and done like almost every team in this league?
“Pittsburgh is the one team that has (won back-to-back) in the last 20 years (in 2016 and 2017). It's not being content. If you can go back to back, that team is special. You don't get these chances too often. Let's seize it.”
The Lightning took another step on Thursday night, beating the New York Islanders 2-1 at Nassau Coliseum in Game 3 of the best-of-seven semifinal. Tampa leads the series 2-1 with Game 4 on Saturday night.
Tampa nursed a one-goal lead through the third period, getting eight saves from Andrei Vasilevskiy in the final 20 minutes to improve to 6-1 on the road in the post-season.
The loss followed the Islanders' playoffs pattern. In each of their first two series, against Pittsburgh and Boston respectively, the Isles got a split on the road in the first two games before losing Game 3 at home.
Though Nassau Coliseum has been one of the more boisterous buildings in the NHL post-season, Cooper wasn't concerned that it would work against his players.
“Playing on the road in general is a hostile environment,” Cooper said. “There's really not too many people cheering for you. In the end, it's just noise and that's how you have to treat it. We're embracing whatever building we play in and we're thankful fans are in it, because last year we did not have that.”
The crowd had no impact on the defending champs.
Tampa forward Brayden Point ran his goal streak to six games, restoring a one-goal Lightning lead late in the second.
Seconds after a penalty to New York's Adam Pelech expired, Point swept the puck past Semyon Varlamov at 19:42 as he was falling to the ice.
That goal — Point's 11th, the most in the 2021 playoffs — erased what has been a better second stanza for the Islanders. The home side carried the play through much of the period, but couldn't get a shot past Vasilevskiy until Cal Clutterbuck found the range at 17:01.
And it wasn't a shot so much as it was a carom, coming off a gaffe by Lightning defenceman Erik Cernak. Rather than clear the puck from a scrum, Cernak tried to put it back into Vasilevskiy's pads. The goalie couldn't cover amid the commotion, and the puck slid through and over the goal-line.
Islanders coach Barry Trotz was asked during his morning availability whether his team's physical nature could be a benefit as the series progresses.
“We play a fairly physical style compared to some teams, but Tampa is not a light team,” Trotz said. “Every team that's playing right now has that element. You look at the four teams, Montreal has it on their back end, Tampa has it, we have it. Vegas has it. It's part of being in the semifinals right now, it's part of what you do.”
In the bigger picture, Tampa didn't win the Cup last year because it danced its way all the way through. Sure, the Lightning's ability to put the puck in the net is paramount, but as Trotz indicated, any team that goes that deep has strength, physically and mentally.
In that regard, the Lightning had a little more oomph in its approach to start and as a result scored the only goal in the first period. Tampa won most of the puck battles, and were rewarded at 10:05 when Yanni Gourde beat Varlamov.
Blake Coleman beat Isles defenceman Noah Dobson behind the net and centred out front. The puck went off the skate of Nick Leddy to Gourde, who buried it.
Vasilevskiy did his part in the first as well, with his toughest stop coming on Kyle Palmieri from point-blank range.
Tampa improved to 10-1 in the playoffs when opening the scoring. Going into the game, it was tied with Montreal in that category atop the NHL, as the Canadiens are 9-1 when scoring first in the post-season.