Game 7 Preview: Islanders at Lightning

GAME 7: ISLANDERS AT LIGHTNING
8 PM | AMALIE ARENA
SERIES TIED 3-3
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The New York Islanders are playing for more than just keeping their season alive.
On Friday night, they'll have the opportunity to make franchise history as their semifinal series against the Tampa Bay Lightning goes the distance in a series-deciding Game 7 at Amalie Arena.
It's the farthest the Islanders have pushed a semifinal series in their post-Cup era. It allows them the chance to fight for more games to be housed at the storied Nassau Coliseum. And the Islanders are one win away from advancing to the Stanley Cup Final, an appearance they haven't made since 1984, when they lost 4-1 to Edmonton.

"You get to a Game 7, you know what's at stake," Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "You play all year to get to this point. You get one opportunity. It'll be there. Just stay in the moment, enjoy it, embrace it. Stay in the moment. Don't get small. If you get wound up, stay in the moment, stay calm. Give it your best effort."
It's been quite the journey to this point for the Islanders, who dug themselves out of a 2-0 hole in Game 6 to complete the 3-2 OT victory and force Game 7, but the determined group isn't focusing on the magnitude of what's at stake. Rather, they're approaching it with the same even-keeled mindset and preparing as they would with any game.
"You don't really think of it necessarily as a Game 7, it's another hockey game that you've got to bring your best," Ryan Pulock said. "Win and move on or lose and go home. For us, our focus is going to be on the right things. We're going to be ready to go and ready to bring our best."

RISING RESILIENT YET AGAIN

It's been a theme for the Islanders, not just in the postseason and not just in the regular season, but really over the last two+ years, to embrace the challenge, show resolve and bet on themselves.
The Islanders did just that on Wednesday night after going down 2-0 in the second period to the Lightning. Rather than letting the game slip away from them in what could have resulted in the end to their season, the Islanders rallied. In a quick, but deliberate fashion.
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Jordan Eberle potted the Islanders icebreaker, only 1:46 after Tampa had doubled its lead. Scott Mayfield delivered the game-tying goal, both of which were assisted by the inspiring performance from Mathew Barzal. Their penalty kill was a perfect 2-for-2, Semyon Varlamov came up with timely saves and Anthony Beauvillier netted the eventual overtime winner that prompted mayhem at the Coliseum.
"I saw resilience, I saw determination, I saw what I've seen year," Trotz said. "A team that has backbone, character, all that. They scored their second goal and we were playing well. I thought, at that point, we shouldn't be down 2-0 but our bench was great...I was pretty confident we were going to at least go to overtime last night, if not at least win the hockey game. You could see it in their eyes. They're a really resilient group. You feel it on the bench, they wanted it."

TRUST THE PROCESS

While the Islanders have only scored the opening goal once in this series, they are 5-1 when scoring first and are 6-6 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs. They've had equal success and found ways to win even when the task gets daunting.
It's a mindset that's been ingrained through the high-character group over the last few seasons and was precisely why there was no hesitation when down 2-0 in Game 6. The Islanders weren't fazed, they embraced the circumstances and completed a monumental comeback.
They're a team that prides themselves on a total-group effort. In doing so, they prompt opportunities for individual heroics. With different players raising their compete in different circumstances, the Islanders have pride and immense trust in their own process. They know when they establish their game and execute it, success typically follows.
"Our mentality is the same all the time," Cal Clutterbuck said. "It's about narrowing your window of focus and just focusing on what's in front of you. When it's during the game, it's the next shift, the next puck. When you get down a couple [of goals] in a game, what can you really do? It's just continuing to be yourself and really keep going. If you get it, you get it. If you don't, you don't. You'd obviously like to get up early in a game, but we've had a lot of situations in the playoffs where that hasn't been the case and we've won those games too."

THIS IS WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF

Despite the Islanders all-business mindset and notion that Game 7 is just one more step 'towards the ultimate goal,' there's no denying the excitement for an all-or-nothing opportunity to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Islanders are planning on bringing their best. On the flip side, they know their opponent will too. The reigning Stanley Cup champions aren't going to go away quietly and nor have they shown any indication of such throughout this playoff run where they've won the last 13 games in a row following a loss.
Either way; one team will rise victorious and be named the Prince of Wales champion, while the other will call it a season.
"You're going to have two focused teams, Game 7 with a chance to go to the Stanley Cup," Trotz said. "It doesn't get much better than that for each organization, for all the players and all the coaches. It just doesn't. These are things that when you're a young kid or a young coach, you dream of these situations."

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Beauvillier's OT winner was his first of the series and snapped a 10-game goal drought. The winger now has 13 points (5G, 8A) through 18 playoff games.
• The Islanders are 7-4 in the playoffs in one-goal games. In regulation, they are 3-3 and are 4-1 in overtime.
• The Islanders recorded their seventh comeback win of the playoffs which is tied for the second most in a single postseason in franchise history (also 1993 & 1977). The only year with more was in 1980 (9).
• Back when Trotz was head coach of the Washington Capitals, he led the team to defeat Tampa in 4-0 in Game 7 of the 2018 conference Finals en route to the franchise's first Stanley Cup.

LIGHTNING NOTES:

• Nikita Kucherov left the game early in the first period following a hit from Scott Mayfield and did not return. There has been no update on the status from Tampa Head Coach Jon Cooper on the Russian winger.
• Brayden Point broke the ice in Game 6 as he wired in his ninth goal in as many games. Point now has 14 goals and 20 points in 17 postseason games. The 25-year-old center became just the fifth player in NHL history to post 14 or more goals in multiple postseasons as he joined Jari Kurri (4x), Mike Bossy (3x), Mario Lemieux (2x) and Wayne Gretzky (2x). He is now within one goal of tying the longest goal streak in a single playoff year that was reached by Reggie Leach (10 goals in 10 games) back in 1976 with Philadelphia.
• Eric Cernak missed his second-straight game and Luke Schenn replaced him in the lineup.
• With Kucherov out, Anthony Cirelli skated alongside Point and Palat and posted a two-point (1G, 1A) outing. Cirelli now has nine points (4G, 5A) in 17 games.
• Friday night will be the sixth time the Lightning have faced a Game 7 while playing in the final four round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Bolts are 2-3 in those games and are 1-2 record under Cooper.