Lesedauer: ca. 1 Minute
In the play-off semifinals, the champions take the series lead with a 2-1 away win.
New York Islanders – Tampa Bay Lightning 1:2
Series status: 1: 2
Once again it was Brayden Point who decided the game: Shortly before the end of the second period when the score was 1-1, he tried to use a rebound from Islanders goalkeeper Semyon Varlamov. He received a check that brought him to the ground. However, the 25-year-old Canadian was not impressed by this and pushed the disc a little happily over the line as he fell. The master brought this lead to the finish. The Islanders had their chances in the final section, but could no longer force the equalizer. Not even in the closing stages when they took their keeper off the ice for the sixth outfield player. In those two minutes, the hosts did not score a single shot on goal! Tampa Bay Lightning is not only the spectacular offensive, but above all a very solid defense around goalkeeper Andrej Vasilevskiy. The champion, who only lost one away game in these play-offs, seems to be on track.
After just ten minutes, the guests from Florida had taken the lead. Blake Coleman shot at Islander’s goal from an acute angle. He plucked the rebound out of the air behind the goal and passed the disc on to Yanni Gourde, who hit the lead from close range. Cal Clutterbuck equalized after exactly 37 minutes. He poked the puck over the line from the fray in front of Vasilevskiy. Then, twenty seconds before the second siren, came Brayden Point.
It was his eleventh goal in the finals – the best in the league, along with Max Pacioretty of the Vegas Golden Knights and Isles defender Ryan Pulock. He has a total of 33 play-off goals, making him the third-best goalscorer in franchise history – on par with club legend Martin St. Louis. Only Ondrej Palat (35) and Nikita Kucherov (41) are ahead of him. Brayden Point has now scored six games in a row – also a franchise record. Martin Havlat last achieved this league-wide 15 years ago in the jersey of the Ottawa Senators. Last year Point scored 14 goals in the finals – including the crucial one to win the Cup in the final against the Dallas Stars.
Not bad for a player who was drafted number 79 in the third round in 2014. His biography on the NHL website states that Tampa Bay Lightning “struck gold” with him. He has been on the ice for Bolts since 2016.
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