Sunday, May 8, 2016

Atlantic Division Final: 2) Tampa Bay Lightning VS. 4) New York Islanders

As usual, this post covers the entire series in the first round of this year's NHL playoffs.

Game 1: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida. In goal: Thomas Greiss for New York and Ben Bishop for Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay started in the first period with an Ondrej Palat goal, his second of the postseason, coming off of Jonathan Drouin and Vladislav Namestnikov. New York tied it with a Travis Hamonic goal, passed from Alan Quine and John Tavares. The Islanders took the lead with a Shane Prince goal, his second of the playoffs, courtesy of Ryan Strome and Brock Nelson. New York added on with another Prince goal, his second of the game and third of the postseason, assisted by Strome and Nelson. The Islanders extended the lead in the second period as Tavares scored his sixth of the playoffs on the power play, powered by Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen. Andrei Vasilevskiy took over for Bishop in goal. The Lightning got one back with a Nikita Kucherov goal, his sixth of the postseason, with helpers from Matthew Carle and Victor Hedman. Tampa Bay got closer with a Valtteri Filppula goal, helped along by Alex Killorn and Jason Garrison. New York iced it with a Cal Clutterbuck empty net goal, set up by Casey Cizikas and Calvin de Haan. The final stood at 5-3, with the three stars being Tavares, Prince, and Strome, while Nelson gets an honorable mention. The Islanders have a 1-0 series lead early on.

Game 2: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida. In goal: Thomas Greiss for New York and Ben Bishop for Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay opened in the first period with a Tyler Johnson goal, his third of the postseason, made possible by Ondrej Palat and Victor Hedman. The Lightning added on with a Jonathan Drouin goal, via Valtteri Filppula. New York got on the board with a Nikolay Kulemin power play goal, powered by Thomas Hickey and Alan Quine. Tampa Bay shot back with a Hedman power play goal, with helpers by Johnson and Drouin. The Lightning iced it at 4-1 with a Johnson empty net goal, his second of the game and fourth of the playoffs, set up by Jason Garrison. The three stars were awarded to Johnson, Drouin, and Hedman. The series heads north tied at 1.

Game 3: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York. In goal: Ben Bishop for Tampa Bay and Thomas Greiss for New York. New York led off in the first period with a Josh Bailey goal, assisted by Nikolay Kulemin and Travis Hamonic. Tampa Bay tied it with a Ryan Callahan power play goal, powered by Alex Killorn and Valtteri Filppula. The Lightning took the lead with a Victor Hedman goal in the second period, his second of the postseason, with a lone assist from Tyler Johnson. The Islanders tied it on a Nick Leddy goal, made possible by Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas. New York regained the lead on a Bailey power play goal in the third period, his second of the game with helpers from Thomas Hickey and Shane Prince. Tampa Bay tied it on a Vladislav Namestnikov goal, guided in by Filppula and Killorn. The Islanders pulled ahead with a Clutterbuck goal, his second of the postseason, coming off of Cizikas. The Lightning tied it as Nikita Kucherov scored his seventh of the playoffs, thanks to Jonathan Drouin and Hedman. Tampa Bay won 5-4 in overtime with a Brian Boyle goal, his second of the postseason, helped along by Hedman, who got a sock trick, and Callahan. The three stars went to Hedman, Bailey, and Callahan, while Filppula, Killorn, Clutterbuck, and Cizikas get the honorable mentions. The Lightning have a 2-1 series lead now.

Game 4: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York. In goal: Ben Bishop for Tampa Bay and Thomas Greiss for New York. New York began in the first period with a Kyle Okposo power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by Nikolay Kulemin and Frans Nielsen. Tampa Bay tied it in the third period with a Nikita Kucherov goal, his eighth of the playoffs, assisted by Tyler Johnson. The Lightning won 2-1 in overtime with a Jason Garrison goal, passed from Andrej Sustr and Ondrej Palat. The three stars were Bishop (27 for 28 in saves), Garrison, and Kucherov. The Lightning head home with a chance to advance, holding a 3-1 series lead. 

Game 5: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida. In goal: Thomas Greiss for New York and Ben Bishop for Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay struck first in the first period with a Victor Hedman goal, his third of the postseason, going in unassisted. The Lightning added on with a Brian Boyle goal, his third of the playoffs, assisted by Matthew Carle and Cedric Paquette. Tampa Bay extended the lead in the second period as Hedman scored his fourth of the postseason and second of the game, a power play goal, powered by Jonathan Drouin and Tyler Johnson. The Lightning padded the lead in the third period on a Nikita Kucherov goal, his ninth of the playoffs, with a lone assist by Alex Killorn. This stood for a 4-0 win, with the three stars going to Hedman, Bishop (28 save shutout), and Boyle. The Lightning won the series 4-1, and will await either the Capitals or Penguins for the Eastern Conference Final.

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