Mishkin's Extra Shift: Game 5 - Lightning 8, Islanders 0

Coming off their Game Four loss, the Lightning spoke about playing with a higher battle level and moving the puck at a faster pace. Those two elements were on display during Game Five and helped the Lightning jump out to a 3-0 first period lead. Then, in the second period, the Islanders got into penalty trouble, leading to four Lightning power plays and two power play goals. By the time the third period began, the score was 6-0 and the game was effectively over.

The Lightning put together a dominant first period, posting 19 shots on net and generating numerous scoring chances. Did they get some fortunate bounces in the opening frame? Yes. But they really did earn their bounces - on all three goals, the Lightning did good work to put themselves in a position to benefit from those bounces.
In particular, the Lightning's tenacity and speed gave the Islanders problems from the red line to the New York net. They also brought a shooting mentality into Game Five. Steven Stamkos' opening goal came at the :45 mark and was already the Lightning's fourth shot on goal in the game. The play started when Alex Killorn disrupted an Adam Pelech pass in the neutral zone. The puck came to Anthony Cirelli and he skated into the offensive zone with Stamkos and Killorn. Although the Islanders had four players back defensively, nobody challenged Cirelli at the blue line. Instead, the New York defenders backed in. Stamkos received the puck from Cirelli and set up Killorn in the slot. Killorn's shot deflected off Pelech and caromed directly to Stamkos at the left circle, who finished his shot into an open side of the net. So while the Lightning got a good bounce on the blocked shot, their ability to force a steal in the neutral zone and counter with speed put the Islanders back on their heels.
The Lightning's second goal also came off a fortunate bounce. Yanni Gourde's attempted pass to Barclay Goodrow banked in off Andy Greene and slid into the net. But Greene had to to make a desperation play on the pass because Gourde and Goodrow had a two-on-one down low. This unfolded after Blake Coleman and Gourde converged on Leo Komarow just inside the New York blue line and forced a turnover.
That was the story of the first period. The Lightning were hard on pucks and, with their fast pace of play, were repeatedly getting behind the Islanders defenders. On the third Lightning goal, Stamkos broke up a play in the neutral zone and fed Killorn, who skated into the offensive end on a two-on-one with Cirelli. Killorn's shot was stopped, but Ryan Pulock couldn't clear the rebound. Instead, David Savard one-timed the puck from the top of the right circle. It hit off Killorn at the top of the crease and deflected into the net. Looking to spark his team, Barry Trotz switched goalies after the third Lightning tally.
In addition to their three goals, the Lightning had 16 other shots on goal in the period and a number of those were high-quality attempts. Semyon Varlamov (13 saves) and Ilya Sorokin (3 saves) did well to prevent any more damage from being done.
At the other end of the ice, the Islanders only registered five shots. But a couple of them were dangerous. Andrei Vasilevskiy's first shot faced a was a point-blank tip from Jordan Eberle. He also made two tough saves on J.G. Pageau and one on Anthony Beauvillier.
But the Islanders' best opportunity to get on the board came in the opening minute of the second period. The line of Brock Nelson, Josh Bailey, and Beauvillier worked the puck into the offensive zone while the Lightning were attempting to make a line change. Vasilevskiy made an initial save on Beauvillier before Nick Leddy and Bailey put back-to-back shots off the post. Vasilevskiy made one more stop on Beauvillier during the shift. A goal there would have made the score 3-1 and provided a boost for the Islanders. Instead, it stayed 3-0. Soon after, Nelson took what was the first of four consecutive New York penalties and the Lightning's power play went to work. The Islanders had made an adjustment on their PK following Game Two, aggressively taking away passing and shooting lanes for the Lightning. But as the Lightning showed in the Carolina series, quick puck movement can break down an aggressive PK. On this first power play chance, the Lightning zipped the puck around the offensive zone and Stamkos buried a one-timer from the left circle into the top of the net.
Killorn would add another power play goal on the Lightning's fourth chance of the period, tipping in a Victor Hedman point shot (after the Lightning won a puck battle along the board to maintain possession). But the middle two power plays - although unsuccessful - were also significant. They ate up four more minutes of clock and prevented the Islanders from making a comeback push.
In between the two second period power play goals, the Lightning netted another even strength marker. Ondrej Palat deflected in a Savard point shot.
Just as time expired in the second period, Mathew Barzal cross checked Jan Rutta in the head. Barzal was called for a major penalty and given a game misconduct. On the ensuing major power play, the Lightning netted a seventh goal. Quick puck movement in the offensive zone led to Brayden Point's one-timer from the slot that beat Sorokin on the stick side. Point has goals in eight consecutive playoff games - it's the second-longest such streak in NHL playoff history.
Luke Schenn finished the scoring with a right point shot that deflected off Pulock's skate past Sorokin. So on only two of their eight goals did the Lightning shoot the puck directly into the net. But they earned their bounces on the three first period tallies and received goals on tips from Palat and Killorn after those players had established position in a shooting lane.
The Lightning should expect that Game Six will more closely resemble the first four games of the series - tight, low-scoring contests. But they'll look to bring with the same compete level and fast pace of play that served them so well in Game Five.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
1. Yanni Gourde - Lightning. Goal.
2. Steven Stamkos - Lightning. Two goals and assist.
3. Andrei Vasilevskiy - Lightning. 21-save shutout.