5 Takeaways: Isles Stifled in 2-1 Loss to Bolts in Game 3

The New York Islanders found themselves in a familiar position after Thursday night's Game 3.
The Islanders lost the contest 2-1, putting them two games to one for the third time in three playoff series.
Cal Clutterbuck scored the lone goal for the Islanders, while Yanni Gourde and Brayden Point (game-winner) scored both goals for the Bolts. Semyon Varlamov stopped 23-of-25 shots in the loss, while Andrei Vasilevskiy turned aside 28-of-29 shots from the Islanders in the win.

It was a night where neither team gave much room on the ice, a typical type of game late in the postseason.
"They've been in this position a few times," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "We had chances and Vasilevskiy made a couple of key saves. They didn't have a lot tonight. I thought we were pretty good defensively as well. A lot of stuff they got I think we gave to them. It's funny as you go along this path - deeper and deeper - the teams are better and better. You've got to dig in even harder and harder."
Here are five takeaways from a Game 3 loss at the Coliseum.

GOALS HARD TO COME BY FOR BOTH TEAMS:

Goals were hard to come by in Game 3 and it was no coincidence that all three came around the net, or on broken plays.
Tampa opened the scoring in the first period, as Gourde scored his third goal of the playoffs. Gourde's goal came off a bad bounce for the Islanders, as Blake Coleman threw a puck in front of the net, which caromed off Nick Leddy's skate and over to the Lightning forward who scored from a sharp angle at 10:05.
The Islanders best offensive push came in the back half of the second period, as the Islanders attacked in waves. JG Pageau snuck a shot through Vasilevskiy off the rush that trickled just wide and Mat Barzal had an even better chance as the Islanders swarmed, putting a sharp-angled shot through the crease with Vasilevskiy down.
The pressure eventually paid off, as the Islanders were able to tie the score on Clutterbuck's fourth of the postseason. Casey Cizikas retrieved a dump-in that awkward bounce off the stanchion out in front of the net. With a scramble ensuing, Bolts d-man Erik Cernak attempted to pass the back to Vasilevskiy to cover, but wound up putting it in danger, with Clutterbuck poking it through.
"Every game has been tough, each team has been battling," Cizikas said. "It's going to be a dogfight out there every single game and we expected that."
The tied score was short-lived, as Tampa regained the lead before the end of the frame. Just as Adam Pelech's interference penalty expired, a Victor Hedman shot hit a pileup in front of the net before Point swept home his league-leading 11th goal of the playoffs.
The Islanders shook off the late goal and outshot the Lightning 8-5 in the final frame. When the Islanders did have their opportunities, Vasilevskiy was equal to the task, stopping all eight of the Isles third-period shots.

TAMPA'S DEFENSIVE GAME STIFLES ISLES:

Thursday night was another tight-checking, low-scoring and physical game between the Islanders and Lightning, the second 2-1 contest in three games.
Normally, that would favor the Islanders, but on Thursday night Tampa's defensive game won out, as the Lightning stifled plenty of Islanders opportunities. Tampa was credited with 21 blocked shots on the night, and managed to keep the Islanders from generating extended zone time, or second and third opportunities.
"Both teams are adjusting to each other," Trotz said. "We'll go at it again. There's two teams going head-to-head. You've got to go through some of their surges and they've got to defend against some of our surges. Hopefully, we can find the back of the net a little bit more here."
ISLES-BOLTS GAME 3
ISLANDERS ARTICLES
Gamecenter
ISLANDERS BOLTS VIDEO
Full Highlights
Clutterbuck Jams in Puck
Postgame: Martin and Cizikas
Postgame: Clutterbuck and Greene
Postgame: Trotz
KINGER'S CALLS
Clutterbuck Jams in Puck
With the Islanders trailing 2-1 and pressing late in the third period, the Bolts went into lockdown mode, holding the Islanders to one shot attempt in the final 4:36 of the game.
"Tampa is good all-around, they're defending Stanley Cup champions and they know what it takes to win," Matt Martin said. "They have a couple top-tier defensemen and four good lines that know what they have to do in their d-zone."

ISLES MORE DISCIPLINED:

After taking five penalties on Tuesday night, staying out of the box was a key focus for the Islanders heading into Game 3.
The Islanders got that number down to one penalty on Thursday, but they paid a price for it, as Point's game-winner came two seconds after Pelech's penalty expired, before the defenseman could get involved in the play.
Still, the Islanders played hard between the whistles, outhitting the Lightning 39-26, and managed to not get involved in too many post-whistle scrums. More often than not, that'll benefit the Isles.

A FAMILIAR SPOT:

Being down 2-1 in a series hasn't fazed the Islanders so far in the playoffs. The Isles were down 2-1 after a wild 5-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the First Round and after a heartbreaking 2-1 OT loss to the Bruins in the second round.
"It's just the way it goes," Trotz said of the recurring theme. "We're going to have to look forward to the next game, the next opportunity and see if we can get the next game and make it a best-of-three."
Both times the Islanders returned with solid efforts in Game 4, winning both games by a 4-1 margin.

COLISEUM ATMOSPHERE... STILL CRAZY:

The Coliseum was back in fine form on Thursday night, rekindling the rowdy playoff atmosphere from the first and second rounds.
The night started with another crowd rendition of The Star Spangled Banner, as the nearly 13,000 in attendance sang along with anthem singer Nicole Reviv. There were plenty of chants, ranging from the typical "Let's Go Islanders!" to an "Un-cle Le-o!" for Leo Komarov.
The New York Jets offensive line was back for a third time, with Dan Feeney playing it coy on camera, before exploding out of his seat to chug a beer and smash the can on his head to fire up the crowd. Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon was also in attendance with Ralph Macchio, both of whom kept the buzz going in the second period.
Expect the Coliseum to rock on Saturday night.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders and Lightning reconvene for Game 4 on Saturday night. Puck drop is at 8 p.m.