DEFENDING CHAMP LIGHTNING TO MEET CANADIENS FOLLOWING GAME 7 SHUTOUT
Bolts smother Islanders to book return trip to Stanley Cup finals beginning Monday
Pack your sunscreen and place your order for your favourite smoked meat sandwich.
The Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens will compete for the 2021 Stanley Cup.
The defending Cup champion Lightning ensured they will get another chance to hoist the mug with a fine defensive effort against the New York Islanders on Friday night, winning 1-0 in Game 7 of the semifinal.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 18 saves, including seven in the third period, at Amalie Arena for his fourth shutout of these playoffs.
Game 1 of the Cup final goes on Monday night in Tampa.
In three previous playoff meetings between Tampa Bay and Montreal, the Lightning have won twice.
The clubs will meet in the post-season for the first time since 2015.
Tampa rebounded well after losing Game 6 in overtime to win the Prince of Wales Trophy.
“Our team has been really good about turning the page,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said during his morning availability. “I've loved our mindset from the morning we got up (Thursday) and like it even more (Friday) morning. It's an exciting time.
“You have to trust what you've done during the year for moments like this. This is no time to reinvent the wheel.”
Against the Canadiens, the Lightning will attempt to join some elite company of the past three decades.
Since 1991, the Cup has been won in back-to-back years by the same team three times: Pittsburgh did it in 1991-92 and 201617, and Detroit did it 1997-98.
Brayden Point's goal streak ended at nine games and the Tampa star fell one game short of tying the NHL playoff record for the longest run with at least one goal.
Reggie Leach, who scored in 10 consecutive playoff games for the Philadelphia Flyers in 1976, will continue to have the record to himself for at least one more year. Point had one shot on goal in Game 7.
Nikita Kucherov returned to the Tampa lineup after he was hurt early in Game 6.
The Isles couldn't find the net through 40 minutes, registering just 11 shots on Vasilevskiy. They had 11 shots blocked and missed the target on eight others.
The same couldn't be said of the Lightning, who put 27 of their 38 attempts on net.
Semyon Varlamov was the best Islander, making several key saves to give his teammates a chance for a comeback.
Varlamov couldn't stop everything, though.
The Islanders were the lone team in the NHL to not allow a short-handed goal in the regular season, but they were burned early in the second period when the Lightning went up 1-0.
With Tampa forward Barclay Goodrow serving a cross-checking minor, Yanni Gourde onetimed a pass from Anthony Cirelli past Varlamov at 1:49.
The play was possible after defenceman Ryan Mcdonagh blocked a couple of shots during the New York power play and then made the first pass up the ice. Cirelli was smart in the offensive zone, buying some time as he drew three Islanders to him before putting a pass on the stick of the streaking Gourde.
It was the second short-handed goal given up by the Islanders in the playoffs.
Tampa carried the play in the penalty-free first period, outshooting New York 15-5 and registering 22 shot attempts to the Islanders' 10.
Varlamov had to make a difficult save on Alex Killorn in the opening minutes, and later stopped Victor Hedman, who managed to get in alone for a chance.
Vasilevskiy wasn't tested much, but had to be sharp when he stretched out to stop Anthony Beauvillier, the overtime hero in Game 6, on the Isles' first shot of the game.
Had the Islanders won, they would have played in the Cup final for the first time since 1984.
Despite failing to advance past the final four for the second year in a row, Isles coach Barry Trotz knows his team is on to something and has the potential to be a tough out, if not more, in the coming seasons.
The Isles don't have a long list of potential free agents this summer, though the group includes forwards Casey Cizikas, Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac and defenceman Andy Greene.
And count on Lou Lamoriello, the back-to-back winner as the NHL'S general manager of the year, to make improvements.
“They're forging a legacy of being a team that's consistently hard to play against, consistently have a great work ethic, consistently being a team that cares about each other,” Trotz said.
“Win or lose (Friday night), it's not going to diminish anything. It's just part of the overall journey for these young men.”