Game 3 Notebook: Nelson Scores Winner as Isles Claim Game 3

Now, it's a series.
The New York Islanders earned their first win - and cut their series deficit down 2-1 - with a 5-3 result in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night at Rogers Place.

After relinquishing a 3-1 lead in the third period, the Islanders staved off overtime as Brock Nelson scored the game-winning goal with 3:25 left in regulation. Semyon Varlamov was superb in net as he made 34 saves.
"This group is special with resiliency," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "This is our fourth series, not our third. We've had to battle through double overtime losses, our first game getting into this overtime and then, our first game getting into this [series in Edmonton] losing the way we did. That says a lot about our group to be able to park it and focus on the moment...These guys are staying resilient and finding ways."
While the Islanders had taken a 3-1 lead with second-period goals from Anthony Beauvillier and Adam Pelech, the high-flying Lightning weren't going to go away quietly. Tampa converted early in the third period on a power-play goal from Ondrej Palat at 2:32 after Jordan Eberle took a holding penalty. The Lightning kept their pressure going and their efforts finally broke through. Tyler Johnson tied the game 3-3 at 12:04 as he deflected a high point-shot from Eric Cernak past Varlamov.

Johnson's goal could have deflated the Isles as they already held a 2-0 series deficit coming into the game and had just allowed a two-goal lead slip away, but opted to retaliate. In response, they held to their process and went to work.
"It's disappointing when you have a two-goal lead going into the third - a chance to win a game and get back in the series - and you give it up," Nelson said. "But we stuck with it. We stayed the course and got right back on it. You can't sit back too much against a team like that."
A forecheck from the Beauvillier, Nelson and Josh Bailey line at Tampa's blueline created a fruitful turnover. Bailey found Beauvillier down low, who needed two tries, but turned and threaded a pass across the slot for Nelson to cash-in from the low slot., Nelson wired his shot top shelf and to the far side of Tampa's netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy.
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Moments later, the Lightning countered. A flurry of chances ensued and Varlamov denied Anthony Cirelli, who was all alone at the net front. Tampa inevitably pulled Vasilevskiy in exchange for the extra skater, allowing Jean-Gabriel Pageau to score his eighth goal of the postseason on the empty net.
"[Varlamov] made very timely big saves for us," Trotz said. "That's what you need in the playoffs and that's what he did tonight."
The Islanders were the first to break the ice as Cal Clutterbuck opened up scoring at 12:58, but both teams were off to a busy first period with a combined 30 shots on goal. The game ended with Tampa outshooting the Isles 37-35.
Clutterbuck scored his second goal of the postseason as his line didn't relent on the forecheck and pinned Tampa in its zone for an extended shift. After Vasilevskiy had turned aside Pageau's initial chance on the doorstep his pad came loose and distracted the Tampa netminder who was hoping for the refs to blow the play dead but wasn't granted such. Instead, Vasilevskiy saved Ryan Pulock's initial shot but sent the rebound right onto Clutterbuck's stick, who roofed it to put the Isles on the board. The Isles nearly doubled their lead as Mathew Barzal sprung the zone and had a breakaway but was stoned on his backhanded attempt at 5:24.
At 3:29, Tampa tied the score as the Isles failed to clear their zone. Gourde walked the blueline and faked a shot before sneaking a pass into the high slot to Mikhail Sergachev. All alone, Sergachev swept the puck from his forehand to backhand to beat Varlamov.
Tampa came out flying in the second period and held the Isles 6:31 without a shot on goal, but the Isles stayed calm, settled in and would end the period with a two-goal lead. They received their first power play of the night at 10:44 but failed to convert and struggled to even cleanly enter Tampa's zone. Moments after the man advantage expired, they regained their lead. Scott Mayfield prevented an attempted clear from crossing the blueline. With possession, Barzal, Pageau and Pelech connected on a quick passing sequence that resulted with Pelech sniping his shot far side of Vasilevskiy.
Immediately, following the Islanders goal Anders Lee and Tampa's Cedric Paquette shared an exchange and were sent to the box for roughing. With both teams down four-on-four, the Islanders capitalized for their 3-1 lead. In transition, Nelson flew down the ice and circled behind the cage before connecting with Beauvillier crashing into the slot. Beauvillier buried the one-timer at 13:50 as he scored his first goal of the series and ninth goal of the postseason - and now tied for the second-most goals of the postseason in the NHL.

NELSON COMING THROUGH CLUTCH:

It was fitting Nelson potted the game-winning goal having been targeted by the Lightning in Game 2 where he was on the receiving end of two late hits from Killorn and Barclay Goodrow.
"He battled through that last game," Trotz said. "It wasn't easy. I wasn't surprised knowing Brock. He just got determined and said, 'Hey, I'm going to bounce back.' He's resilient. I really liked his game."
During the regular season, Nelson set a new career-best with his five game-winners and was just one behind Lee for the most among the Isles. In the postseason, Nelson and Beauvillier are each tied now with three game-deciders.

CONTINUED CONTRIBUTIONS:

With Pelech's second-period goal, he became the 17th player to score in the postseason for the Isles. Pelech also became the sixth defenseman for the Islanders to light the lamp in the postseason, establishing a new franchise best.
Throughout the entirety of this run, the Isles have utilized their depth as a strength opposed to relying on key contributions from a single player or line. In turn, they've received balanced and timely goals up and down the lineup with a seemingly different hero emerging almost every night.
"If we're going to have any success in this series, we're going to need contributions from all of the lines," Trotz said. "The first number of goals that we've scored in this series have come from the Cizikas and Pageau type of lines. We haven't really been able to get the other two lines on the scoreboard. Tonight, we did, and we were able to get a victory."

CIZIKAS MISSES GAME:

Casey Cizikas missed Game 3 with an undisclosed injury. In his absence, Trotz opted to use Pageau in Cizikas' spot alongside Clutterbuck and Martin.
"I had an inclination yesterday and he wasn't available for today," Trotz said. "We'll see where he is. We have another day here [before our next game] and we'll see where he is from that standpoint."

BRASSARD AND DAL COLLE DRAW IN LINEUP:

Derick Brassard returned to the lineup for the first game since Game 1. In Game 3, Brassard transitioned back into the center position - where he's spent the bulk of his career. The veteran forward threw three hits and had one block in his 10:52 of ice time that included 54 seconds on the power play.
Dal Colle returned to the lineup for the first time since Game 7 against Philadelphia on Sept. 5 in place of Andrew Ladd. Dal Colle skated alongside Derick Brassard and Leo Komarov. The winger logged 9:54 time on ice and fired off one shot on goal.

POINT AND KILLORN OUT FOR TAMPA:

Tampa, who was without their leading-goal scorer Brayden Point (8), still opted to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen. The Lightning were also without Alex Killorn, who was serving his one-game suspension following his early Game 2 hit on Nelson.
Carter Verhaeghe and Eric Stephens drew into Tampa's lineup for Game 3.

NEXT GAME:

The Isles and Lightning return for Game 4 on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. E.T.