Islanders’ dream of a Stanley Cup again ends at hands of Lightning with Game 7 loss

TAMPA, Fla. — The Lightning are the Islanders’ road block.

The defending Stanley Cup champions ended the Islanders’ season one round short of the Stanley Cup Final for a second straight season. And in their stingy, 1-0, win in Friday night’s Game 7 at Amalie Arena, they continually thwarted the Islanders’ pass attempts while blocking 20 shots.

Semyon Varlamov, the Islanders’ best player, made 30 saves, only allowing Yanni Gourde’s shorthanded goal in the second period.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 18 saves for his fifth career playoff shutout, only needing to stop seven shots in the third period despite Varlamov being pulled for an extra skater with 2:23 left.

It was reminiscent of the Islanders’ 2-1 first-round Game 7 loss to Barry Trotz’s Capitals in 2015 when they were outshot 26-11 in Washington.

The Islanders rallied to force Game 7 against the Lightning with a 3-2 overtime win on Wednesday night at a crazed Nassau Coliseum. That will stand as the final NHL playoff contest at the venerable barn with UBS Arena at Belmont Park targeted to open in November.

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The Lightning will open the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night at Amalie Arena against the surprising Canadiens.

Tampa Bay had Nikita Kucherov in the lineup after the top-line right wing exited Game 6 following his first shift, with his status for Game 7 in doubt right up to warmups. He certainly didn’t seem 100%.

Linemate Brayden Point had his nine-game goal streak snapped one short of tying the NHL playoff record. But the Lightning still out-generated the Islanders.

The Lightning have now won seven straight playoff series and are 13-0 in that stretch in games following a loss. This was the first time in those seven series the Lightning have been stretched to the full seven games. They beat the Islanders in six games in last season’s Eastern Conference finals.

The Islanders’ last trip to the Cup Final came in 1984 after winning four straight Cups from 1980-83.

The journey for the Islanders to be one game away from the Cup Final for the first time in 37 years has, of course, been a winding, often painful one. The team did not win a playoff series from 1994-2016, missing the postseason 14 times in that span.

But the Islanders have reached the playoffs three times in three seasons under Trotz and president and general manager Lou Lamoriello.

“I talk about the journey probably more than the outcome,” Trotz said. “The journey is very important for the players.”

The Lightning scored the only goal on Gourde’s shorthander at 1:49 of the second period after Barclay Goodrow was whistled for cross-checking defenseman Adam Pelech in the offensive zone. Defenseman Nick Leddy, Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson all went to defend Anthony Cirelli along the right wall in the Islanders’ zone, leaving Gourde open in the slot to beat Varlamov past his glove.

The Islanders went more than 11 minutes in the second period without a shot on goal.

The bulk of the first period was also played in the Islanders’ zone as they struggled to clear the puck and expended so much energy when they did that it was hard for them to get the puck deep into the Lightning zone and establish a forecheck.

Varlamov stopped all 15 shots he faced in the opening period, including Alex Killorn’s shot from the slot at 1:07 and Ondrej Palat’s try from the right at 11:42 that left the goalie taking a peek behind him as he squeezed his pads on the puck.

But Anthony Beauvillier, who scored the overtime winner in Game 6, had the best chance, racing to the puck for a chance at the crease at 2:25 before Vasilevskiy stretched out his right pad.

Despite the loss, Trotz said this group of players have created their own legacy for a franchise still in the shadow of its dynasty years.

“They’re forging a legacy of being a team that’s consistently hard to play against, consistently have a great work ethic, consistently a team that cares about each other,” Trotz said. “Win or lose, it’s not going to diminish anything. It’s just part of the overall journey for these young men.”

The journey ended Friday night. Training camp opens in September.

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.