Lightning Strikes Twice As Bolts Head To Stanley Cup Semifinals

TAMPA, FL — Tampa Bay is lighting up Bolt Blue as the 2020 Stanley Cup champions head into the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals for the second straight year.

Twitter feeds throughout Tampa Bay were on fire Tuesday night when the Bolts proved that Lightning trumps Hurricanes.

The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Florida Panthers in six games in the Stanley Cup First Round and then the Carolina Hurricanes in five games during the Second Round. Tuesday's 2-0 shutout by the Bolts over the Hurricanes at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, eliminated the need to play Games 6 and 7.

Meanwhile, the Islanders eliminated the Boston Bruins with a 6-2 win in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Second Round Wednesday after defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in the First Round.

On Thursday, the National Hockey League released the game dates and time for the semifinals,, which pit the Montreal Canadiens against the Vegas Golden Knights and the Tampa Bay Lightning against the New York Islanders.

Seedings and matchups for the Stanley Cup Semifinals were based on regular-season standings. The winner of each best-of-seven semifinal will advance to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

NBC Sports Group in the U.S. will provide exclusive national television coverage of the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals. Here are the dates of the games:

Game 1: Sunday, June 13 at 3 p.m.
Game 2: Tuesday, June 15 at 8 p.m.
Game 3: Thursday, June 17 at 8 p.m.
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.

It will be déjà vu as the Lightning face the Islanders for the second straight year in the Stanley Cup Semifinals starting with Game 1 Sunday at 3 p.m. on the Lightning's home turf, Amalie Arena.

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

The hands-down hero of Tuesday's game was 26-year-old Russian-born Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made 29 saves.

Nevertheless, Lightning forward Brayden Point said this isn't the time for the Bolts to rest on their laurels.

"This is not the end goal," Point said during a post-game news conference. "There's still so much work to be done. We can't get too high here. We've got to have some good practice days and wait for our next opponent."

"A big thing is experience," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We've been down this road, there's a formula in place, and you need the players to execute. I'm proud of them and I'm proud of their effort."

Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov leads the playoffs with 18 points (five goals and 13 assists) followed by Steven Stamkos with 13 points (five goals and eight assists), Point (five goals and four assists) and Alex Killorn (six goals and six assists) each with 12 points and Victor Hedman with 11 assists.

Vasilevskiy is 8-3 with a 2.24 goals-against average and .934 save percentage.

"We've got a lot of confidence in our group," Point said. "I thought we had a pretty good regular season where we were kind of building toward this. We got some guys back in our lineup that definitely helped. But it's just the belief in our group. We've got four lines and all the [defensemen] and great goaltending, so we just feel confident."

The Lightning will go up against Islanders forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau with 13 points (three goals and 10 assists), Josh Bailey with five goals and six assists, Anthony Beauvillier with four goals and seven assists and Kyle Palmieri with seven goals.

Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov is 4-3 with a 2.62 goals-against average and a .925 save average and Ilya Sorokin is 4-1 with a 2.32 goals-against average and .934 save average.

After beating the Bruins 6-2 Wednesday, Bailey said the Islanders are ready to face the Lightning again.

"It's going to be no easy task. I think Tampa has a great team, the defending Cup champs," Bailey said. "So, it's going to be tough, but we believe in ourselves and we know we're going to need our best to find a way to take them down."

"We've talked zero about Tampa Bay, zero," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "We started out this journey to beat Pittsburgh. We were able to do that and then we focused in on Boston. Now we will get a shot against the champs again."

Lightning Releases More Game Tickets

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced Friday afternoon that it has released capacity at Amalie Arena to approximately 14,800 fans for the Stanley Cup Semifinals and have released additional tickets.

Tickets to Stanley Cup Semifinals home games are available here but if you want to watch Sunday's game at Amalie Arena, you should act fast. Tickets start at $194.

The Cigar City Taproom Downtown will be open for all 2021 home playoff games. Tickets are $45 per person and include guaranteed indoor seating, a buffet meal and unlimited non-alcoholic beverages.

Important Details:

• Click here for the full menu
• Tickets must be pre-purchased and all seats at tables of two and four must be purchased
• Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase
• Ticketed fans can access their table starting three hours before the puck drop
• Food service begins 75 minutes before the puck drop and will remain until the end of the second intermission.

Official Lightning Watch Parties

For those who don't have a ticket to Sunday's game, Pepsi Zero Sugar will host socially distanced Lightning Plaza Parties outside of Amalie Arena on Ford Thunder Alley, featuring live music and giveaways. Tickets are $5 with a portion of the proceeds benefitting Lightning Foundation Charities. Pods of one to eight people are available.

Important Details:

• Tickets must be purchased to access Lightning Plaza Parties
• Fans with tickets to the Lightning Plaza Parties are permitted to bring standard tailgate-sized chairs (20 by 20 inches)
• The plaza will open for ticketed guests three hours before the puck drop
• Anyone without a ticket to either the Amalie Arena or the Lightning Plaza Party will be asked to leave the secure perimeter of the plaza
• Fans with tickets to the Thunder Alley viewing party and the arena will be able to access the plaza via the west sidewalk in between the JW Marriott and the Pam Iorio Garage, the west sidewalk at the intersection of Morgan Street/Channelside Drive or the entryway to the plaza at the northwest corner of Amalie Arena
• Outside food and beverages, coolers, bags, and tents are not permitted.

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.