Lightning defeat Islanders in OT in Game 6, advance to Cup Final

Anthony Cirelli scored at 13:18 of overtime, and the Tampa Bay Lightning advanced to the Stanley Cup Final with a 2-1 win against the New York Islanders in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Thursday.

After taking a pass from Barclay Goodrow from below the goal line, Cirelli shot off the left post before it hit the back of Semyon Varlamov's pad and crossed the goal line.
"The emotion is just so high," Cirelli said. "We worked all year. Our goal was to be playing for the Stanley Cup. We're here now, so I think it's every kid's dream to be in this situation."
Brock Nelson had a chance to win it for the Islanders while they were killing a four-minute power play. He stole the puck from Tyler Johnson and skated in on a breakaway, but Andrei Vasilevskiy made a shoulder save at 2:24 of overtime.
WATCH: [All Lightning vs. Islanders Highlights]
Victor Hedman scored, and Vasilevskiy made 26 saves for Tampa Bay, the No. 2 seed, which will play the Dallas Stars in the Cup Final.
Game 1 of that best-of-7 series will be in Edmonton, the hub city, on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS).
"The exuberance and relief, it's unparalleled how you feel inside," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "It's about the players and the effort, dedication and perseverance they've put into this. They're the ones that deserve this because they've done all the work."

This will be the third time the Lightning will play in the Cup Final. They defeated the Calgary Flames in seven games to win their only Stanley Cup championship in 2004, and lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games in 2015.
"We had four months to rest before the playoffs started," Hedman said. "We're a confident group. … We're in the Final. We have a lot of energy. We're super excited. This is not the time to think about how you feel. This is when you go after it. You've got to empty the tank."
Varlamov made 46 saves for the Islanders, the No. 6 seed, who were playing in the conference final for the first time since 1993.
"I'm real proud of them and the strides we made, but we're obviously disappointed as a group," New York coach Barry Trotz said. "This group felt two things: We felt we could represent the East, and the second thing is hopefully play for the Stanley Cup. We fell a little bit short."

Devon Toews gave New York a 1-0 lead on its first shot of the game at 4:15 of the first period. He skated behind the net after receiving a pass from Anders Lee and scored on a wraparound before Vasilevskiy could get back to the right post.
"It's a special group in our room," Lee said. "Until that very last minute, every single one of us believed in each other and what we were doing, and the road we were on. Obviously, we come up short, but there's a huge source of pride right now."

Hedman tied it 1-1 at 6:28 of the first period on a rebound from the slot following a shot from Erik Cernak. It was the fifth straight game New York had surrendered a 1-0 lead.
"I think the bar has always been set high," Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield said. "I think this year shows other people how high we think it is. … It hurts now, but I guess that's a silver lining, if you want to look at it that way. It's trending in the right direction."
NOTES: Brayden Point returned for the Lightning after he was unfit to play for the second time in the series in Game 5, a 2-1 loss in double overtime. He had four shots in 25:47 of ice time. ... Hedman has nine goals in these playoffs, tying Paul Coffey (1985 Edmonton Oilers) for the most goals scored by a defenseman in a single postseason before the Cup Final. … Including the second overtime of Game 5, which lasted 12:30, the Islanders had six or fewer shots on goal in seven straight periods, a conference finals record, before they had nine in the third period Thursday. … Tampa Bay is the first team to win its first three series in overtime. It defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 in overtime in Game 5 of the first round on Aug. 19, and won 3-2 in double overtime against the Boston Bruins in Game 5 of the second round on Aug. 31.
NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger contributed to this report