Lightning Strike Early, Hold On For 2-1 Game 3 Win Over Islanders

LONG ISLAND, NY — If the Tampa Bay Lightning hoped to follow the script they had in earning a split of the first two games of the Stanley Cup semifinal series against the New York Islanders, the start of Thursday night’s Game 3 was certainly a step in the right direction.

But the finish on the defensive end of the ice proved to be even more impressive.

The Lightning jumped out to an early lead – just as they had Tuesday night on home ice – and then took a page from the Islanders playoff playbook in won the opening tilt on the road with a gritty 2-1 victory at Nassau Coliseum.

With the win, the Bolts improved to 6-1 in postseason road games, the most recent of which can be credited to how the Lighting were able to keep the puck out of the back of the net.

Brayden Point’s goal as he was falling to the ice in the final 20 seconds of the second period was the difference-maker to give the Bolts took a 2-1 series head heading into Saturday’s Game 4 in Long Island.

Point has now scored in six straight games and leads all NHL players in postseason scoring.

"I think I just kind of got knocked down and the puck just kind of stayed on my stick and and I slung it toward the net," Point said in a postgame television interview. "I'm not sure how it went it, but it was just one of those lucky ones that we needed tonight."

Yanni Gourdi scored midway through the first period as the Bolts never trailed as was the case in Tuesday night’s 4-2 victory. While the scoring wasn’t as plentiful as an effort when the Lightning got offensive contributions throughout its lineup, the defense stood tall to make Point's goal-ahead goal stand up.

Andrei Vasileveskiy was steady as he has been throughout the series and was perfect in net with 18 saves and managed to protect the slim lead as the Islanders began to take control and knotted the score on Cal Clutterbuck’s goal at the 17:01 mark of the period.

But just when the Islanders appeared to be ready to head to the third period even, Point’s hot streak continued to swing the momentum back in the Bolts’ direction.

Vasileveskiy, who finished the win with 27 saves, again was tasked with keeping the Islanders at bay in the third period minutes when the Lightning managed only one shot on goal over the first 12 1/2 minutes of the period. Despite the lack of offensive pressure, the Bolts were able to allow the Islanders to mount much pressure to escape with the victory.

"That's something we have really talked about the last couple of years is keeping pucks out of our net and making sure the (defensive) zone is the most important zone," Point said on the television broadcast. "(The Islanders) had some control late and it's something to look at, but we still had guys sacrificing and blocking shots and all that good stuff. So we'll take the win."

NBC Sports Group in the U.S. is providing exclusive national television coverage of the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals.

Here are the dates of the upcoming games:

Game 4: Saturday, June 19 at 8 p.m.

*Game 5: Monday, June 21 at 8 p.m.

*Game 6: Wednesday, June 23 at 8 p.m.

*Game 7: Friday, June 25 at 8 p.m.

*If necessary

This is the second straight year the Lightning has battled the Islanders in the Stanley Cup Semifinals.

The Lightning defeated the Islanders in six games in the Eastern Conference Final last season before winning the Stanley Cup against the Dallas Stars.

A strong performance in net from Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov, as well as goals from Mathew Barzal and Ryan Pulock, sent the Lightning to a 2-1 loss in Game 1 of the Lightning's bid to hang on to the Stanley Cup, according to Lightning sports reporter Jacob Lynn.

The Bolts tried to rally late in the third, getting on the board in the final minute of regulation, but New York hung on down the stretch to take Sunday's series opener.

In Game 2, the Lightning rebounded with a solid team effort that saw contributions come throughout the lineup in a 4-2 victory. The Bolts scored three straight goals after Ondrej Palat snapped a 1-1 tie in the second period to put the Bolts up to stay.

Jan Rutta's goal just more than 2 minutes in the third period extended the lead before Victor Hedman added a power play goal to give Tampa Bay a commanding 4-1 lead. The Islanders tallied a late goal to get to within 4-2, but Andrei Vasileveskiy was impressive in net and finished the win with 24 saves.

Official Lightning Watch Parties

For away games during the Stanley Cup Semifinals, fans are invited to Amalie Arena for socially distanced, official Tampa Bay Lightning Watch Parties presented by Bud Light, featuring live entertainment, appearances by Lightning mascot ThunderBug and other Lightning personalities, giveaways and concession specials.

Tickets are $10 with a portion of the proceeds benefitting Lightning Foundation Charities. Pods of one to six people are available. Doors will open 75 minutes before the scheduled puck drop.

Patch Editor D'Ann Lawrence White contributed to this story