Lightning Eliminate Islanders, Advance To East Finals After 4-0 Home Rout

The Tampa Bay Lightning have advanced to the Eastern Conference finals in the Stanley Cup playoffs after defeating the New York Islanders 4-0 in Game 5 at their own Amalie Arena Sunday afternoon.

Lightning Eliminate Islanders, Advance To East Finals

Victor Hedman led Tampa Bay with two goals: an unassisted goal  which came at 13:49 of the first after stripping the Islanders’ Kyle Okposo and taking the turnaround shot, and a power-play goal at 4:22 of the second. Brian Boyle and Nikita Kucherov scored the other two goals for the Lightning. Boyle took a pass from Matt Carle behind the Islanders’ net, and rather than simply whipping around for a shot, he one-touched the puck behind his back to greatly improve his angle and blasted a wrist-shot into the back of the net. Kucherov then scored the fourth and final goal on a breakaway at 4:40 of the third period, after which the thunderous celebration at Amalie Arena only grew even louder as the crowd treated the Islanders to the classic tune “Hey, hey, hey, goodbye!” Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop finished with 28 saves, while the Islanders’ Thomas Greiss made 21 saves.

“We had an incredible run and were on the fun side of things,” Islanders center Frans Nielsen said. “We’ve seen the brutal side of it, too.”

This is the second straight year and the third time in six years that the Lightning move on to the finals, and they are the first team in the NHL to make it to this stage this year. Tampa Bay is now 8-2 in these playoffs despite missing captain Steven Stamkos and No. 2 defenseman Anton Stralman to injuries. Although it still remains unclear whether either one will be ready to play again for the final round, getting a few extra days between series by winning the series against the Islanders 4-1 in five games certainly helps.

The Lightning will next face off against the winner of the series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals, which the Penguins lead 3-2 heading into Game 6. That potential series-deciding game is set for Tuesday night.

Following Sunday’s game, the Lightning are now averaging three goals per game this postseason, while allowing only 1.9 goals per game. Kucherov currently leads scoring in the playoffs with nine goals, with at least one goal scored in seven of Tampa’s 10 playoff games. Meanwhile, Tyler Johnson added an assist to extend his team-best point total to 13.

Bishop, meanwhile, is now looking like an all-world goaltender and recently became a Vezina Trophy finalist. After Sunday, his postseason save percentage has now improved to 0.937. Hedman has also set a record: he earned eight points in the five-game series against the Islanders, which is the highest single-series total for a Lightning defenseman in franchise history.

After winning the franchise’s first playoff series since 1993 when they beat the Florida Panthers in the first round, the Islanders are now forced to re-evaluate their position after being kicked out of the second round. The transition of ownership of the Islanders also poses certain questions for the team heading into the offseason. Charles Wang is set to give up majority control to Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin. 

The Islanders also have several issues to take care of regarding their roster. Okposo is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 if the team can’t reach an agreement with him. The same is true for Nielsen. Those are two players who are crucial to the roster, and each of whom will likely soon receive a healthy raise. Matt Martin (Unrestricted Free Agent), Casey Cizikas (Restricted Free Agent) and Ryan Strome (RFA) are also on expiring deals.

General manager Garth Snow is going to be a very busy man over the next six or seven weeks and probably will have to be active on the free agent and trade markets.

PHOTO: TAMPA, FL – MAY 8: Victor Hedman #77 of the Tampa Bay Lightning shoots past Josh Bailey #12 of the New York Islanders during the second period of Game Five of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on May 8, 2016 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)