The series has moved to Long Island for Games 3 and 4, now the Islanders have the home ice advantage. In the first two games of the series, both teams picked up victories. Now, both teams are looking to pick up the advantage in an all important Game 3. Here is how the two teams would line up:
The Islanders would come out strong, looking to take advantage of having the crowd behind them and get the early momentum. However, the Lightning would weather the storm, and even manage to score the first goal of the game. The goal would be provided by Yanni Gourde, his third goal of the playoffs. The assists on the play would come from Blake Coleman and Erik Cernak.
Late in the second period, the Islanders would get one back to tie the game up. A net mouth scramble would find Cal Clutterbuck poking the puck home past Vasilevskiy. It would be Clutterbuck’s fourth goal of the playoffs, with the assists coming from Matt Martin and Casey Cizikas.
The game would not be tied very long as the Islanders would find themselves shorthanded late in the period. While the Lightning wouldn’t score on the ensuing power play, they did make a breakthrough shortly after the penalty had expired. Brayden Point, while falling down would slot the puck in-between the legs of Varlamov. The goal is Brayden Point’s eleventh goal of the playoffs, with the assists on the play coming from Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov.
That would be all the scoring that would occur in this game, as both goalies were shutting down the offenses and standing on their heads. The Lightning would hang on to their 2-1 lead and take a 2-1 series advantage.
Three Stars:
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Brayden Point
Cal Clutterbuck
Box Score:
Next Game:
Sat. June 19th at 8p on USA Network
The Xperience Hockey Talk 
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