In “Aspects of the Novel,” E.M. Forster wrote that nearly every novel’s ending is a disappointment. This is yet another reason why real life is always more vibrant and exciting than fiction, as Tyler Johnson illustrated with his late-game tip-in to push the Lightning past the Islanders 4-2. New York made several poor choices that led to their downfall. How Tampa Bay seized on those errors is worth examining.

With 26 minutes elapsed in the game, the Lightning were down 1-0. The Islanders were outshooting Tampa Bay, and New York had just staved off the third line’s offensive-zone pressure. Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy cleared the puck from the zone, and as Anton Stralman went back to retrieve the puck he felt pressure from New York forward Leo Komarov. But the second period is the long change, and Stralman spun around and whipped the puck toward Alex Killorn, who was waiting as his outlet in the neutral zone. Killorn gracefully absorbed the pass and sprang Joseph for a rush chance. The counterattack was on.

When Joseph entered the zone with speed, Scott Mayfield kept a sufficiently tight gap, but failed to disrupt the sling-shot wrist shot. When the puck was released, Joseph was nearly at the dot. Keeping a tight gap is only useful if the defenseman is awake.

At this point in the contest, the Islanders were not surrendering a lot of scoring chances (Tampa Bay collected three in the first period at 5v5), and it is a testament to Stralman and the third line for identifying the opportunity that had arisen from the sloppy line change. The Islanders forwards were physically out of the picture, and a talented team will penalize them for that. For the Lightning, even their depth players can execute when the opponent briefly shows vulnerability. From Stralman’s retrieval, to Killorn’s job as the outlet, to Joseph taking the puck and shooting it in stride, each element of the play deserves a lot of praise.

With the score tied at one, after spending 44 seconds in the defensive zone, New York defenseman Thomas Hickey had an opportunity to clear the puck after J.T. Miller swung the puck below the goal line. Instead of reversing the flow of the puck, Hickey panicked with Nikita Kucherov charging him and chipped the puck up the boards. The Lightning regained possession and less than ten seconds later Mikhail Sergachev feigned a shot, and passed into a one-timer for Miller in the slot.

The fact that the Islanders only had one real chance to clear the puck from their own zone stresses how skilled the Lightning were in puck management. Not counting the Kucherov entry to the Miller finish, the puck would change hands (sticks) 16 times. That is bonkers! In that sequence, the Lightning won races to the puck. They completed short passes. They kept possession despite facing pressure along the boards. The defensemen pinched and there were interchanges between the forward and defenseman. The puck traveled north-south and east-west. And the reason Kucherov had such a clear entry to begin with was because Stamkos forced a Mathew Barzal turnover just outside the blue line. The scary part with the Lightning is not that they gash the bad teams that cannot defend a pylon, but they consistently prevail over good teams with structure that concede few chances.

The Islanders’ death knell arrived with less than 92 seconds left in the game, and the sequence developed quickly. The Islanders won a faceoff and defenseman Ryan Pulock’s heave up the boards took a weird bounce. The fickle puck caromed into Yanni Gourde’s lap, and Gourde slapped the puck to Kucherov, who faked the one-timer and slipped a pass to Johnson on the backdoor. The Islanders’ blunder produced an odd-man, three-on-two look in the offensive zone, but the speed with which the puck zipped from blade to blade makes one wipe away moisture around the eyelid and then claim the room is dusty. It is confirmation that hockey, when played right, is as beautiful as anything this world has to offer.

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