Islanders hang on to defeat Lightning in Game 4, even series

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders scored three goals in the second period and evened the Stanley Cup Semifinals with a 3-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday.

Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock blocked a shot by Ryan McDonagh with 2.7 seconds left and goalie Semyon Varlamov caught out of position.
"He made a heck of a play with the spin-o-rama, and the net was open," Pulock said. "I just tried to make myself big and take it away and I was able to get it. Obviously you hear the sound of the clock go and all the boys jump on you, it's a good feeling."

Mathew Barzal scored his sixth goal in eight games, and Cal Clutterbuck and Adam Pelech each had two assists for the Islanders, who have won Game 4 to tie each of their three best-of-7 series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Varlamov made 28 saves.
"Our game was good," New York coach Barry Trotz said. "I know that we probably had more chances when I look at the game. … Our 60-minute game was pretty decent other than the seven or eight minutes where they surged on us, and we had a surge earlier.
"This is what we expected, 2-2 going back (to Tampa). It's a best-of-3 now."
Brayden Point extended his goal streak to seven games, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves for the Lightning, who lost for the second time in eight road games.
Game 5 is at Tampa Bay on Monday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).
"It was red rotten, that second period," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "These guys have given it their all for whatever it's been now, a month and change, and sometimes you lay an egg, and we laid one in the second period. It was unfortunate because you don't play well sometimes, the breaks don't go your way.
"… You realize how precious every period is and every shift is and it's one of those, if you do bend, you can't break. And that second period, we broke. It was a little self-inflicted. I'm proud of the guys for the push in the third, and you know what? We're one save away from probably still playing right now. But you can't play 40 (minutes), you've got to play 60."
Varlamov made a save on Nikita Kucherov's shot from the slot with 5:36 remaining to preserve the one-goal lead, before Pulock prevented the tying goal.
"The situation that we're in and how deep we are in the playoffs and how important these games are, obviously there's probably no situation like this that I've had before," Pulock said. "Obviously it feels good to score goals, but when you can save a game like that and get the win like that, it's a good feeling."

Josh Bailey gave New York a 1-0 lead when he took a backhand pass from Brock Nelson and beat Vasilevskiy with a wrist shot in the right face-off circle at 5:30 of the second period.
Barzal made it 2-0 at 13:46 on a rebound of Clutterbuck's shot from the right point after it hit Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri at the near post.
The goal came after Trotz swapped Palmieri and Leo Komarov on New York's top line early in the first period. Komarov played most of the game on the third line with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Travis Zajac.
"It's something I've been contemplating each game," Trotz said. "They're going to be low-scoring games. I don't think we can get into a track meet with this team, they finish so well. I just felt that I had last change and just there was more cadence in this game, if you will. I just felt that that would be an easier switch for me today. We'll see what we do next game."
Matt Martin gave the Islanders a 3-0 lead on a backhand at 17:57. The goal was upheld after the Lightning lost a coach's challenge for offside.
New York had seven players score a point and outshot Tampa Bay 17-9 in the second period.
"Different nights, different guys are stepping up," Bailey said. "You need that in the postseason if you're going to make a run."
Point scored with a wrist shot from the right circle at 3:45 of the third period to make it 3-1. It was his NHL-leading 12th goal of the playoffs.
Tyler Johnson cut it to 3-2 with a wrist shot from the left circle at 6:43, prompting the Islanders to call timeout.
"Now it's a best-of-3," Johnson said. "You have to look ahead, you have to move forward. This game, you can't change anything now, so we've got to try to learn from mistakes, be ready to play a full 60 minutes. You get that home ice back, and we have to use it to our advantage."
NOTES: The Islanders have outscored opponents 23-10 in the second period this postseason. … The Lightning were held without a shot on their lone power play, in the first period. … Point is tied for the second-longest goal streak in one postseason; Reggie Leach scored in 10 straight with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1976.