The Tampa Bay Lightning had last seen action for seven days. We wondered if this long wait was going to be an advantage or if Jon Cooper’s men were going to have to remove a little rust before they got going. The response was unequivocal.
Rising the curtain of the Eastern Conference final, the Lightning was ruthless for the New York Islanders. Led by evenings of five points from Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov, the Floridians easily won 8-2 on Monday in Edmonton.
Whether it’s in the Toronto bubble or the Edmonton bubble, it makes no difference for Point. The Lightning forward has continued the demolition work he started in Queen City five weeks ago.
He set the tone for the series by taking down Ryan Pulock and Thomas Greiss from his first appearance on the ice. He added one goal and was the accomplice of three others to increase his record to 23 points. The 24-year-old Albertan has only been shut out in one of the Lightning’s 14 games since the playoffs began.
The trio he composes with Kucherov and Ondrej Palat flew over this meeting. Palat took advantage of this massacre to blacken the scoresheet in a sixth straight game.
Bad decision by Trotz
Barry Trotz made a bold move when he sent Greiss into the net in Game 7 against the Philadelphia Flyers. If the bet had then smiled on him, Monday night, it exploded in his face.
The German allowed three goals on nine shots, prompting the Islanders head coach to change his mind. The series was then only 10 min 46 s old.
One can wonder about the choice of Trotz to keep Semyon Varlamov on the bench to start this final of the East. Granted, Greiss had shut out the Flyers. However, Alain Vigneault’s troops had hardly been dangerous with only 16 shots on goal.
Behind a team that was in their sixth game in 10 days, it might have been better to trust the team’s number one goalie.
Work to be done
And to think that before the game, the Islanders presented the second tightest defense on the circuit with 1.94 goals allowed per game. There is no doubt that Trotz and his assistants have a lot of work to do for the next game.
In defensive territory, it was the stampede. Not knowing where to turn, the blankets were often lacking. Sensing a good deal, the Lightning used these full-backs to open up passing lines or to land good shots. Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh hit the target after advancing up the enclave.
While it was the first goal in 32 playoff games for McDonagh in a Florida uniform, Hedman moved the strings in a third straight game.
Gourd contributes
Speaking of the Islanders, Brock Nelson is the only player who seemed unaffected by the jet lag and displacement from the night before. Second highest scorer for New Yorkers since the start of the playoffs, Nelson has had the best chances to score his own.
If he had been able to score on the breakaway he got in the first period, when he was on the shorthand, the pace of the game could have been different.
A goal from Nelson might not have changed a thing either. The Islanders have never been in the game. One might even wonder if the Lightning’s dominance wouldn’t have been even greater without the five power-play superiorities they offered the Islanders.
Jordan Eberle took advantage of the first to score his first goal in 12 games.
In defense of the Flyers’ knockers, it must be said that their rivals were practically flawless defensively. With Yanni Gourde, Palat and Barclay Goodrow constantly in the face, Islanders forwards Josh Bailey and Mathew Barzal in the lead have never been able to assert themselves.
SUMMARY
THIRD PERIOD
13:15 – Islanders 2 | Lightning 8 – Yanni Gourde continues to humiliate the Islanders. He accepts Kevin Shattenkirk’s pass on a power play and scores 8-2!
09:31 – Islanders 2 | Lightning 7 – Point caused a turnaround and passed the disc to Ondrej Palat, who allowed Tampa to score a seventh goal in the game.
08:46 – Islanders 2 | Lightning 6 – Nick Leddy scores a goal with no real impact in the third period …
05:51 – Islanders 1 | Lightning 6 – Brayden Point is unstoppable! He spins on the right flank and spots Nikita Kucherov completely alone in front of Varlamov. The Russian striker accepts his teammate’s offering and scores 6-1.
SECOND PERIOD
13:18 – Islanders 1 | Lightning 5 – Brayden Point is on fire! The striker redirects Victor Hedman’s pass shot during a power play to score his second of the game and deal a heavy blow to the Islanders!
04:03 – Islanders 1 | Lightning 4 – Pat Maroon manages to surprise Varlamov by passing the disc to Yanni Gourde. the shot of the Quebecois is slowed down by the stick of Andy Greene. However, we noticed a few seconds later that the Islanders player’s stick was in the net and the puck crossed the goal line! 4-1 Tampa!
FIRST PERIOD
10:46 – Islanders 1 | Lightning 3 – Tampa Adds More! Ryan McDonagh’s point throw is not picked up by Greiss. Barry Trotz has seen enough, the goalkeeper game is over. Semyon Varlamov enters the fray.
08:12 – Islanders 1 | Lightning 2 – It’s Tampa Bay’s turn to enjoy a power play! Victor Hedman shoots a real lead from the blue line, which mystifies Greiss. Tampa takes the lead.
04:33 – Islanders 1 | Lightning 1 – New York draws a tie in a power play. Jordan Eberle takes Anders Lee’s throw return to beat Vasilevskiy.
01:14 – Islanders 0 | Lightning 1 – Brayden point goes there with a superb individual maneuver! The forward beats defenders with speed and cuts quickly towards the net. He manages to deceive the vigilance of Thomas Greiss! Tampa scores the first goal of the series.
