Fresh off of their momentous game 6 win over Florida in Brooklyn on Sunday night, the New York Islanders are on a roll. Topping the Lightning 5-3 in Tampa on Thursday, the Isles now have some major momentum on their side. By winning the first game of this second round series, there is no doubt that the Isles are in the driver’s seat as they make their playoff push.
Game 1 got off on the wrong foot for the Isles and they fell behind early after Ondrej Palat put the Lightning on the board with the first goal of the game at 3:05 into the first period. Immediately after though, the Isles were back in business to even up the score, when Travis Hamonic scored at 5:44. The goal sunk the buzz out of the building and the Isles were then ready to make their move.
Hamonic’s goal led to a domino effect of positivity and it ignited the offense. The man that stepped it up was Shane Prince, who scored back to back goals at 17:28 and 19:57, right before the end of the first period.
In the second period, Captain John Tavares, who has been magnificent in these playoffs, scored on a wrist shot to give the Isles their fourth goal of the game. And while Tampa Bay cut the lead to a one goal deficit, Cal Cutterbuck sealed the Lightning’s fate scoring on a empty net goal. With game one completed, the Isles now have the edge in this series.
The key for the Isles is that no matter what happens in game 2, they have taken the home ice advantage away from Tampa Bay. They can’t get too comfortable though, and they need to hold on to the momentum that has certainly stuck with them since they won their first round series over the Florida Panthers. And over the course of the last month they have gone from being a playoff bubble team to a certified contender for the Stanley Cup trophy.
Game 2 will take place on Friday night in Tampa.
