Stanley Cup semifinal: Lightning-Islanders Game 5 live updates
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Steven Stamkos and Alex Killorn have two goals apiece, and the Lightning lead the Islanders 8-0 in the third period of Game 5 of their Stanley Cup semifinal series at Amalie Arena in Tampa.
Brayden Point scored for the eighth consecutive game, and Yanni Gourde, Ondrej Palat and Luke Schenn also scored for Tampa Bay, which hopes to regain the lead in the series and move to within one win of returning to the Cup final.
Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak, who left late in Game 4 after being hit hard into the end boards by Matt Martin, is out. Luke Schenn is in.
Follow our live updates throughout the game:
Third period
LIGHTNING GOAL! Brayden Point scores on the power play off a feed into the slot of Nikita Kucherov. It’s the eighth consecutive game in which Point has scored. Lightning 7, Islanders 0.
Jordan Eberle skates off gingerly after being hit by a Ryan Pulock shot
Sorokin covers Palat attempt from the low slot after a Point pass from the right circle
LIGHTNING GOAL! Luke Schenn bounces a shot off Ryan Pulock’s right skate into the net from the blue line. Lightning 8, Islanders 0.
Islanders catch the Lightning on a bad line change, but the Islanders can’t take advantage
The Islanders hit two posts (Beauvillier, Bailey) and the side of the net (Nelson) after a bad Lightning line change results in a 2-on-none break for New York
Vasilevskiy gets a glove on Jordan Eberle shot
Nelson penalized for hooking Rutta
Sorokin stays in the game after getting hit in the neck with a shot
Cizikas skates the puck out of the zone
LIGHTNING GOAL! Stamkos scores from the left circle. Hedman and Kucherov get the assists. Lightning 4, Islanders 0.
Savard blocks Martin shot from the right circle after a long stretch pass
Cal Clutterbuck penalized for interfering with Mikhail Sergachev
Pageau intercepts a pass and shoots the puck out of the zone
Stamkos shot from the left circle goes wide
Pageau deflects Stamkos shot from just above the goal line
Islanders clear the puck
Another Islanders clear
Islanders kill the penalty
Kyle Palmieri penalized for tripping Blake Coleman, and the Lightning go right back on the power play
Kucherov shot from the right circle is blocked and the puck cleared out of the zone
LIGHTNING GOAL! Ondrej Palat scores on a redirection. Lightning 5, Islanders 0.
Matt Martin and Luke Schenn drop the gloves in front of the Lightning net after Coleman shoves Martin into Vasilevskiy
Vasilevskiy stops Pageau attempt from the edge of the crease
Pageau penalized for tripping Hedman and the Lightning will get their fourth power play of the period. Two of the Islanders penalties came in the offensive zone
LIGHTNING GOAL! Killorn scores on the power play. Lightning 6, Islanders 0
McDonagh penalized for cross-checking Nelson
Barzal cross-checks Rutta in the face as the period ends. Barzal gets a five-minute major and game misconduct
(Lightning lead 6-0 after two periods)
First period
Casey Cizikas hits Barclay Goodrow
Semyon Varlamov stops shot by Steven Stamkos
LIGHTNING GOAL! Steven Stamkos scores 45 seconds into the game. He skates to the left circle, then dishes to Alex Killorn in the slot. Killorn’s shot goes off a defender back to Stamkos, who scores into an empty net. It’s Stamkos’ first goal of the series. Lightning 1, Islanders 0
Brayden Point misses wide on a backhand attempt
Adam Pelech shot from the left circle blocked by teammate Josh Bailey. Jan Rutta and Andrei Vasilevskiy appear to get a piece of Bailey’s rebound attempt
Vasilevskiy stops Jordan Eberle tap from the side of the net
Vasilevskiy saves J-G Pageau backhand shot from low in the left circle
Brock Nelson blocks Victor Hedman shot after a Nikita Kucherov takeaway created a chance off the rush
Yanni Gourde shot from the right point deflects wide of the net
Tyler Johnson shot from the left circle off the rush is deflected wide
Jan Rutta shot from the right circle deflects side
LIGHTNING GOAL! Yanni Gourde pass for Barclay Goodrow from low in the left circle deflects in off New York defenseman Andy Greene. The play started with a Leo Komarov giveaway at the Islanders blue line. Lightning 2, Islanders 0.
Four-save sequence for Varlamov
Varlamov turns Gourde shot aside on 2-on-1 with Goodrow
Scott Mayfield breaks up Point pass for Kucherov on 2-on-1
Varlamov stops Anthony Cirelli drive to the net
Varlamov gloves Stamkos shot
LIGHTNING GOAL! Puck goes off Cirelli’s backside into the net after David Savard shot from the point. Lightning 3, Islanders 0.
Islanders change goalies, Varlamov out and Sorokin in
(Lightning lead 3-0 after one period)
Pregame scouting report
We can only wonder what might have happened had Ryan Pulock not dove in front of an empty net to stop Ryan McDonagh’s backhand shot in the closing seconds of Game 4 Saturday in New York.
The Lightning had all of the momentum at that point in the game, and a last-second goal would have been demoralizing for the Islanders. So it’s not unreasonable to think the Bolts might have gone on to win in overtime.
But Pulock did make the save, and Tampa Bay and New York are tied at 2 entering Game 5 tonight at Amalie Arena, their Stanley Cup semifinal series now down to a best-of-three.
Despite the loss, there’s a lot the Lightning can take out of the third period of Saturday’s game, when they rallied from a three-goal deficit to nearly tie the score in the final seconds, and carry into tonight.
They upped their compete level to match the Islanders’ desperation, got more pucks behind New York’s defensemen, took better care of the puck, won more one-on-one battles and improved their overall execution.
Do those things from the start tonight, and they’ll grab a 3-2 lead in the series. Teams that win Game 5 after a best-of-seven semifinal series is tied at 2 go on to win the series more than 75 percent of the time.
The Lightning have won 11 consecutive games following a playoff loss, including Game 2 against the Islanders in Tampa. Conversely, New York won Game 5s on the road in each of the first two rounds of the playoffs, at Pittsburgh and Boston.
So, something’s got to give. But what?
Follow our live coverage, starting at 8 p.m., as the Lightning aim to regain the series lead and move to within one win of returning to the Stanley Cup final.
There is one change to the Lightning lineup. Defenseman Erik Cernak, who left late in Game 4 after being hit hard into the end boards by Matt Martin, is out. Luke Schenn is in.
Setting the scene
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