Lightning beat Isles, return to Stanley Cup Final
Defense, Vasilevskiy foil Islanders in tense Game 7 triumph
TAMPA, Fla. — Thanks to Andrei Vasilevskiy and another stellar defensive performance, the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning are headed back to the Stanley Cup Final.
“It’s becoming a broken record, but it’s not how many you put in the net, it’s how many you keep out,” coach Jon Cooper said Friday night after Vasilevskiy had 18 saves and benefited from exceptional play in front of him to beat the New York Islanders 1-0 in Game 7 of their NHL playoff semifinal.
“It’s a hard lesson to learn, especially the players coming up today and the skill, the rules getting put into place that open up skill and to skate and to score,” Cooper added. “But when you get to the playoffs it’s about defending.”
Yanni Gourde scored a short-handed goal, giving Vasilevskiy all the offensive support needed to advance the Cup Final matchup against the surprising Montreal Canadiens.
“Just a great effort by the whole team. … That was just a textbook Game 7,” Vasilevskiy said.
Gourde beat Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov from the slot off a nifty pass from Anthony Cirelli at
1:49 of the second period, culminating a sequence that began with defenseman Ryan Mcdonagh blocking a shot at the other end.
“It’s disappointing because that was an opportunity for us to do something against them. We weren’t paying enough attention, and it ended up in the back of the net,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said.
“I thought we managed the first period, and it was pretty quiet. And then they got the short-handed goal, and that energized the building,” Trotz added. “In the third period we left it all out there. This group has so much character. They are feeling the pain right now.”
Vasilevskiy turned away seven shots in the final period to finish his fifth career playoff shutout — fourth this postseason. It marked the first time in NHL history a Game 7 ended 1-0 with a short-handed goal.
Vasilevskiy, vying for his second Vezina Trophy in three years, also beat the Islanders 8-0 in Game 5 and shut out Florida and Carolina to clinch series wins over Panthers and Hurricanes in the first two rounds.
“He’s the best in the world for a reason,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. “He’s the steady rock that allows us to go out there and play with pace, play with confidence, play with a lead, and I thought we did an unbelievable job of that.
“After we got that goal we just kept pushing,” Stamkos added. “Vasy made some big saves when he had to, but guys had huge blocks at the end of the game and it was so nice to be in front of our home fans and have that atmosphere and get that win.”
The Lightning improved to 14-0 in games following a playoff loss since beginning last year’s championship run. They also bounced back from losses to beat the Islanders in Games 2 and 5 and haven’t suffered consecutive playoff losses since being swept by Columbus in the first round in 2019.