Islanders at Lightning
Captain John Tavares leads the way as the New York Islanders enter the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 1993 on Wednesday when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning for Game 1. Tavares scored the tying and winning goals in the series-clinching 2-1 double-overtime victory over Florida on Sunday, finishing with nine points in six games.
“When he plays the right way, it’s contagious for our group,” New York coach Jack Capuano told reporters. “I just think that’s what he’s done since I’ve been here. He’s got great creativity as we know, but he’s a great leader for our hockey club.” The Lightning come in with almost a week of rest after dispatching of Detroit in five games as Nikita Kucherov registered five goals and three assists while Ben Bishop posted a .950 save percentage. Tampa Bay is not expected to get captain Steven Stamkos (blood clot) back soon, but top-pair defenseman Anton Stralman (broken fibula) could return by the end of the series. “It’s only going to get harder, and I know our group’s ready for it,” said Tavares, who owns 25 points in 23 career games versus the Lightning. “We’re looking forward to the next challenge.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, TVAS
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS: Kyle Okposo contributed six points, Frans Nielsen (three goals) had four and late-callup Alan Quine had three in the tight series against the Panthers. Jaroslav Halak (groin) has been skating, but the net belongs to Thomas Greiss after he went 23-11-4 in the regular season and more than did his part with a 1.79 goals-against average and .944 save percentage in the first round. Josh Bailey suffered an upper-body injury in Game 6 and will likely be replaced by fellow forward Ryan Strome in the lineup.
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING: Stamkos, who scored a team-high 36 goals this season, practiced with the team for the first time this month on Tuesday but will be on blood thinners for an undetermined amount of time. The Lightning will need others to step up again in the second round, including forwards Tyler Johnson (seven points), Alex Killorn (three goals, two assists) and Jonathan Drouin (four assists). Defenseman Victor Hedman led all Tampa Bay players in ice time at 27:02 per game in the first round and was second behind Kucherov (15) in shots with 14.
OVERTIME
1. The Islanders won two of three meetings this season, outscoring the Lightning 12-11, and are 4-1-0 in the last five.
2. Tampa Bay allowed one power-play goal in 25 attempts in the first round, but the Islanders were 3-for-8 against the Lightning’s penalty kill during the regular season.
3. New York D Nick Leddy had three assists and averaged 30 minutes in the first round.