POINT SCORES AGAIN AS LIGHTNING TAKE A SERIES LEAD
After keeping up his scoring touch to help Tampa Bay get a big road victory its Stanley Cup semifinal series, Brayden Point was especially proud of the Lightning’s defensive effort.
Point got the tiebreaking goal late in the second period, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 27 shots and the Lightning beat the New York Islanders 2-1 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 series lead.
The Islanders outshot the Lightning 8-5 in a tight third period but couldn’t tie it. They pulled goalie Semyon Varlamov for an extra skater with about 1:48 remaining but couldn’t manage a shot on goal.
“They had some control late, something to look at,”
Point said “We still had guys sacrificing, blocking shots and all that good stuff. We’ll take the win for sure.”
Yanni Gourde also scored to help Tampa Bay improve to 6-1 on the road in the playoffs.
“We kept the game really simple,” Gourde said. “We managed the game for most part of the game and that was the key, especially in the third period. We closed the ice pretty well and we got the puck deep whenever we got the chance. I think that was very important for us.”
Cal Clutterbuck scored for the Islanders, and Varlamov finished with 23 saves.
Game 4 is Saturday night at Nassau Coliseum, with
Game 5 back in Tampa on Monday night.
“Tampa’s good all around,” the Islanders’ Matt Martin said. “They’re the defending
Stanley Cup champions and they know what it takes to win. They know what they have to do in their D zone.”
Both teams had chances in a fast-paced second period. The Islanders had some sustained pressure in the offensive zone midway through, but couldn’t beat Vasilevskiy. The goalie denied a shot by Adam Pelech with 6 minutes to go and Mathew Barzal hit a goalpost seconds later. Vasilevskiy then denied Barzal’s tip try.
“We have to get more pucks, we have to get inside,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said.
The Islanders tied it late in the second. Off a scramble for the puck in front of Vasilveskiy, Lightning defenseman Eric Cernak attempted to push the puck into the goalie. Clutterbuck and several players whacked at the puck and it went through
Vasilevskiy’s feet and in with 2:22 left.
Notable
Rod Brind’Amour never worried much about being able to reach a deal to remain coach of the Carolina Hurricanes. “It was just a matter of time really,” Brind’Amour, 50, said as the team announced a three-year contract extension.
Hours later, Brind’Amour won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year for guiding the Hurricanes to a third consecutive playoff appearance and finishing first in the Central Division.
The extension and accolades come a little over a week since Carolina was eliminated by reigning Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay in the second round.