The Tampa Bay Lightning found a way to win. That’s what matters.
In Game Two of their Eastern Conference Final series with the New York Islanders, the Bolts faced more than their fair share of adversity. Ill-timed penalties and injuries combined to put Tampa shorthanded, both literally and figuratively, for most of the night. Even so, they held their own and managed to eke out a last-minute victory to take a 2-0 series lead.
For the Islanders, it’s difficult to imagine a more heartbreaking loss. After being embarrassed in the first game of the series, New York really played their game to perfection tonight. It was a low-scoring, hard-fought game in which they limited chances at both ends of the ice. Call it textbook Islanders/Barry Trotz hockey. To miss out on the opportunity that came with the Lightning being down to nine forwards for most of the night, and the opportunity that ample power play time provided, has to be disappointing. To miss out on those opportunities thanks to a goal against with eight seconds left in the game has to be downright demoralizing.
While all ended well for Tampa Bay on the scoresheet, the road to get there was paved with difficulty. It all started just over a minute into the contest, when Matt Martin scored his fifth of the postseason to make it a 1-0 game. The Lightning got caught watching as Martin popped the puck off Tyler Johnson’s stick and past Andrei Vasilevskiy for the score. Odd bounce or not, it gave the Islanders the start and response they were looking for after the Game One disaster.
From that point on, though, Vasilevskiy locked things down for his team. It’s tough to understate how important his performance was for Tampa, especially in that first period. The Lightning goaltender faced 13 shots on goal in that frame, with the Islanders attempting a total of 25 shots per Natural Stat Trick. Simply, there were plenty of opportunities for New York to build on their opening goal, but Vasilevskiy didn’t allow that to happen.
Perhaps New York’s best opportunity to extend their lead in the first occurred when Alex Killorn was ejected from the game after a five-minute major penalty. He hit an unsuspecting Brock Nelson somewhere between the shoulder and jersey numbers, well after the puck was gone. It was an unnecessary, dangerous hit that was rightly punished by the officials:
#GoBolts Alex Killorn hit on #Isles Brock Nelson
— Here's Your Replay â¬‡ï¸ (@TheReplayGuy) September 10, 2020
5 minute major pic.twitter.com/tPqC23mt8r
Unfortunately, the Bolts weren’t able to build on that late goal as the second frame began, and ultimately played the middle period to a scoreless draw. The score sheet in the second showed zeroes, but it still managed to deal a potentially material blow to the Lightning. Brayden Point only took a couple shifts in the second period before leaving for the remainder of the game due to injury. Even though they won this game and took a 2-0 series lead, the possible long-term ramifications of a Point injury are significant. He is arguably the best player remaining in these playoffs league wide; it’s nearly impossible to replace a player like him.
With Killorn out due to the game misconduct and Point injured, the Lightning found themselves down to only nine forwards in a tie game. Opportunity wasn’t just knocking for the Islanders; opportunity went full kool-aid-man-through-a-brick-wall for them. They couldn’t convert. Even with a third period five-on-three advantage, New York failed to break through.
That second pivotal penalty kill allowed the Lightning to seize victory from the jaws of defeat late in the third. With about eight seconds left in the game, and everyone preparing for overtime, Nikita Kucherov converted on a breathtaking Ryan McDonagh pass to give the Lightning the 2-1 lead they wouldn’t relinquish:
Nikita Kucherov with 7.8 seconds left. Jon Cooper is fired up. pic.twitter.com/xVOo1lNxs9
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) September 10, 2020
It was interesting to listen to some of the mainstream commentary following the Kucherov goal and into the post-game. There was talk of New York domination and of the Lightning “stealing… a win. From my perspective, that’s not a particularly accurate narrative for Wednesday’s tilt. Yes, the Islanders got to play and dictate their style of game, but that doesn’t mean that Tampa was ineffective or unworthy. The clear difference between this year’s Lightning team and Lightning teams of previous years is that this one has shown an ability to adapt, an ability to win the 2-1 game or the 8-2 game. A quick look at the underlying numbers at five-on-five in Game Two will show you that, even though it may not have been the high-flying style of victory that the Lightning love, Tampa was far from undeserving of a win.
In closing, it’s true that there is still plenty of time left in this series for things to go awry – and any long-term absence from Brayden Point will certainly change things – but it really feels like this might be a series-defining moment for the Lightning. New York played the game they wanted to play. New York had opportunity after opportunity. New York still lost. The key now for Tampa is to keep their foot on the gas, and push New York to the brink in Game Three on Friday.
(Getting Point healthy would be nice too.)
As always, thanks for reading.