/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67365782/1194009897.jpg.0.jpg)
New York Islanders at Tampa Bay Lightning: ROUND 3, GAME 1
Time: 8:00 pm Eastern Time
Location: Rogers Place
Broadcast/Streaming: NBCSN, SN, SUN, FS-O, TVAS
Opponent SBNation Site: Lighthouse Hockey
Preview:
By the time the dust fully settles from Round 2 and the conference finals begin, the Tampa Bay Lightning will have gone a full week between hockey games. They were the lone Round 2 series to not go the full seven games, and so had the benefit of an extended break to rest, heal, and travel to Edmonton for the remainder of the playoffs.
Their next opponent will be the New York Islanders, a team that is just as defensively stifling as the Columbus Blue Jackets with a lot more offensive flair. No, it’s not ideal that the Lightning have to play two defensive juggernauts in one playoff run, but if they want to be the best, they have to beat the best.
It also means they have to be at their best — the Lightning may have escaped their last series in only five games, but they were hit hard with injuries. Ryan McDonagh returned in time for Game 5, but they lost Nikita Kucherov for most of that game. Although Kucherov will play tonight, there’s still no update on the injury to Steven Stamkos but he will not be available for the Lightning for the entire series.
The Lightning did get one extra day to adjust to the time difference and their new bubble than the Islanders, but rust could be an issue as the Islanders have been battling hard in games. As Jon Cooper said earlier this week, it’s hard to simulate game action in practice, and the Lightning will need to prove that their break was beneficial and not detrimental to their game.
We’ll see what version of the Lightning that shows up at puck drop tonight, but if they’ve learned anything from their past two series’, they’ll need to stay out of the penalty box and strike when they have the opportunity to. Here’s hoping for a Game 1 victory.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Forwards
Ondrej Palat - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn - Anthony Cirelli - Tyler Johnson
Barclay Goodrow - Yanni Gourde - Blake Coleman
Carter Verhaeghe - Cedric Paquette - Patrick Maroon
Mitchell Stephens, Alexander Volkov, Mathieu Joseph
Injured: Steven Stamkos
Defense Pairs
Victor Hedman - Zach Bogosian
Ryan McDonagh - Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev - Kevin Shattenkirk
Luke Schenn, Braydon Coburn
Injured: Jan Rutta
Goaltenders
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Curtis McElhinney
New York Islanders
Forwards
Anders Lee - Mathew Barzal - Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier - Brock Nelson - Josh Bailey
Derick Brassard - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Leo Komarov
Matt Martin - Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck
Michael Dal Colle
Defense Pairs
Adam Pelech - Ryan Pulock
Devon Toews - Scott Mayfield
Nick Leddy - Andy Greene
Goaltenders
Semyon Varlamov
Thomas Greiss
Loading comments...