Follow me on Twitter: @BenShelley_20 Follow HockeyBuzz Islanders on Twitter: @HB_Islanders
The New York Islanders’ season came to an end last night, falling 1-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of their third round series.
The Lightning take Game 7 and the series. pic.twitter.com/iQkIO0acc1
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) June 26, 2021
The Islanders got the first power play of the game very early in the second period but it was the Lightning who opened the scoring. Anthony Cirelli held the puck deep in New York’s end and capitalized on a defensive breakdown, drawing in two players and then feeding Yanni Gourde who had open ice, due to Kyle Palmieri getting caught puck watching. Gourde then beat Semyon Varlamov with a good shot from a great spot. The Islanders were still pretty flat after the goal and were outshot 11-3 at even strength in the period and 12-6 overall in the frame.
New York did come out forechecking pretty hard in the third period and did generate some chances, even though most weren’t of an overly high caliber. While they gave the Lightning very little in the way of chances, the Islanders themselves only managed seven shots in the frame and didn’t sustain much pressure. New York did put shots on net in the dying seconds but couldn’t get many through traffic and time expired, as the Islanders came up short.
New York really couldn't generate any offense through much of the game and as soon as Islanders got the puck, Lightning were on them pretty quickly. The Islanders managed just 18 shots throughout the game and simply weren’t the better team in Game 7.
I’ll do a full season recap soon but for some quick thoughts: It’s obviously disappointing to see the Islanders come so close but fall just short again. That said, I think it can certainly still be seen as a success that they got within a single win of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Lightning are realistically one of the most talented and deepest teams assembled over the last decade and New York was two goals away from getting past them. Now, the next step will be to see if the Islanders are able to build on their success over the last three years and finally break through.
***We've launched a HockeyBuzz Islanders Twitter account! For anyone interested, you can follow @HB_Islanders for updates on articles, Islanders news, etc.***
Islanders fall 5-2 to Bruins in Game 1 Islanders even series against Bruins with overtime win in Game 2 Islanders fall behind in series vs. Bruins after overtime loss in Game 3 Islanders beat Bruins in Game 4, even series once again Islanders hang on for Game 5 win, take 3-2 series lead over Bruins Islanders eliminate Bruins, will face Lightning in third round Playoff Preview: Islanders vs. Lightning Islanders open series vs. Lightning with a win Islanders fall 4-2 to Lightning in Game 2 Islanders down in series vs. Lightning after Game 3 loss Islanders even series vs. Lightning with Game 4 win Islanders on verge of elimination after 8-0 loss to Lightning in Game 5 Lou Lamoriello wins GM of the Year Award Islanders stay alive with Game 6 OT win, force Game 7 vs. Lightning