Game 1 saw the Islanders win a very close matchup, and steal home ice advantage, 2-1 was the final score. With Game 2 tonight, they would look to try and take a commanding lead in the series. While the Lighning are looking to try and tie the series up. Here is how both teams would line up:
In the first period, the Lightning would get the first goal of the game to ignite the crowd and establish momentum. A beautiful pass from behind the net would find Brayden Point’s stick, and he would deposit the puck on the short side of Varlamov. The goal is Point’s 10th goal of the playoffs, with the assists on the play coming from Nikita Kucherov and David Savard.
A couple of minutes later, the Islanders would find themselves on the power play, a nasty collision between Brayden Point and Semyon Varlamov, which saw Varlamov leave the game. Ilya Sorokin would step in for the Islanders in net. The Islanders would convert on the ensuing power play to tie the game up. A turnover by Ryan McDonough in the slot would find the stick of Brock Nelson, who shot the puck past Vasilevskiy’s glove side. The goal is Brock Nelson’s 7th of the playoffs, and the play was unassisted.
In the second period, Semyon Varlamov would return to the net for the Islanders. The Lightning would proceed to re-establish the lead. It would take a while, a little over half way in the period, but it would be Ondrej Palat who would find the breakthrough past Varlamov. A beautiful shot from the slot that would find the back of the net. It’s Palat’s 3rd goal of the playoffs, with the assists on the play coming from Nikita Kucherov, his second point of the game, and Victor Hedman.
Early in the third period, the Lightning would double their lead, a shot from the point from Jan Rutta would beat Varlamov top shelf on his blocker side. Varlamov was screened on the play by Josh Bailey and picked up the puck late. The goal is Rutta’s 1st goal of the playoffs. The assists on the play would come from Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman.
Seven minutes later, the Islanders would take a penalty and go short handed. The Lightning would take advantage and add another goal. This time the goal would come from Victor Hedman, his second point of the game and his first goal of the playoffs. The play was unassisted.
Seven minutes later, the Islanders would score to cut the Lightning lead in half. The goal would come from Mathew Barzal, his 5th goal of the playoffs. The assists on the play would come from Jordan Eberle and Nick Leddy. That would be the closest the Islanders would get for a comeback attempt, as the Lightning defense went into shutdown mode and stifled any Islander chances. The final score of the game would be 4-2, and the series would be tied at 1 game a piece.
Three Stars:
Nikita Kucherov
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Victor Hedman
Boxscore:
Next Game:
Thur. June 17th at 8p on USA Network
The Xperience Hockey Talk 
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