Lightning topple Islanders in Game 2 to even series

TAMPA — The Islanders showed up the Lightning in Game 1, but the defending champions reminded them who they are in Game 2. Tampa Bay charged back into the Stanley Cup semifinal series with a 4-2...

TAMPA — The Islanders showed up the Lightning in Game 1, but the defending champions reminded them who they are in Game 2.

Tampa Bay charged back into the Stanley Cup semifinal series with a 4-2 win Tuesday night at Amalie Arena, reviving their home crowd of 14,771 after putting on a bleak performance in the series opener. Heading back to Long Island for Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Saturday, the Islanders and Lightning are now knotted at one win apiece.

“You want to win both, but a split is how we started each series so far,” defenseman Scott Mayfield said. “We’re excited to get back to our house, the Coli, where we know our fans will be loud.”

Aside from the NHL officiating crew’s abysmal showing, the stark difference between Games 1 and 2 was the contributions from Tampa Bay’s first line of Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov. After the trio combined for just three shots and Point’s last-second six-on-four power-play goal on Sunday, the Lightning’s top guns totaled two even-strength goals, three assists and nine shots on goal in Game 2.

Point opened up the scoring in the first period before Palat made it a 2-1 game at 12:15 of the second.

Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) beat New York Islanders center Casey Cizikas (53) to the puck during the second period in Game 2.

All four on-ice referees either completely missed the six skaters the Lightning had on for Palat’s goal, or they were looking to make up for the game-tying power-play goal they handed the Islanders after Adam Pelech cross-checked Point and sent him barreling into Isles goalie Semyon Varlamov in the first period.

Varlamov was shaken up and went to the locker room, which brought rookie Ilya Sorokin into the game for the remainder of the period. But Point was called for interference, and the Islanders were gifted a power play.

Brock Nelson took a loose puck and buried it from between the faceoff circles to knot the game, 1-1. Varlamov, who coach Barry Trotz said was pulled by NHL’s concussion spotter to be evaluated, was back in goal to start the second period.

“Yeah we did [notice],” Matt Martin said of the missed too-many-men call. “I think Trotzie talked to the refs about it. It was missed, that’s hockey. It happens. Nothing we can do about it. Move on.”

The Lightning had not received a single goal from their defensemen all postseason, until they got two Tuesday night. Jan Rutta sniped the first playoff goal of his career from the right point at 2:16 of the third period, before Norris Trophy finalist Victor Hedman capped the Tampa Bay scoring with a power-play goal six minutes later.

The Islanders got away from their detail-oriented game and allowed the Lightning to expose holes in their structure that weren’t supposed to be there. Even though Mathew Barzal managed to make it a two-goal game, putting back a rebound off a Jordan Eberle attempt at 16:44 of the third, the damage had already been done.

“I don’t think we expect it to be easy,” Nelson said. “They’re a good team. We knew they were gonna come hard, wanted to raise our game, we did some good things. We knew they were gonna come though, and they got it.”

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Mollie Walker