Pro Sports

Isles stay alive: Eberle seals 2-1 2OT win over Lightning

Posted September 16, 2020 7:00 am

The Associated Press

New York Islanders right wing Jordan Eberle (7) celebrates after scoring on Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the second overtime in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Eastern Conference final, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) - Islanders forward Jordan Eberle knew exactly what to do upon seeing teammate and captain Anders Lee pounce on the loose puck once Tampa Bay's Kevin Shattenkirk whiffed on his shot from the right point.

Eberle raced up the middle, drove to the net and converted Lee's pass to cap a two-on-one break and keep the Islanders' playoff hopes alive. The goal, scored 12:30 into the second overtime, sealed a 2-1 win over the Lightning in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference final series Tuesday night.

'œThings happen quick out there. You've got to react. You see the fanned shot. You see Leesy poke it by,'ť said Eberle, who scored his second winner of the postseason. 'œYou've played this game a long time, you know when you have odd-man rushes and an opportunity is about to come. Leesy made a heck of a play to get the puck over to me.'ť

The sixth-seeded Islanders cut the second-seeded Lightning series lead to 3-2, with Game 6 scheduled for Thursday night. The winner will advance to the Stanley Cup Final and face West champion Dallas, which eliminated Vegas in five games on Monday night.

Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock also scored and Semyon Varlamov capped a 36-save outing by skating the length of the ice and making a head-first dive into the pile of players mobbing Eberle.

'œI don't know. I just jumped because I was so excited for us,'ť Varlamov said of his celebration. 'œWhen we scored that goal, it was just a lot of emotions going through in that moment. I was just happy for the guys, so happy for us. We have a chance to continue to play.'ť

Relief had something to do with it, too, in a game the Islanders were limited to 24 shots, and no more than six in a period. And they weathered killing off a four-minute double-minor for high-sticking called against Anthony Beauvillier with 1:23 left in regulation.

The goal came off the Lightning winning a faceoff to the left of the Islanders net. The puck was drawn back to Shattenkirk, who fanned on the shot. It dribbled to Lee, who banked the puck off the sideboards to get around Shattenkirk.

'œIt took the stars aligning on a fanned shot for them to get the break they got,'ť Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. 'œWe had opportunities to put the game away.'œ

Victor Hedman scored for the Lightning, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 22 shots.

The Lightning were minus co-leading playoff scorer Brayden Point, who had a goal and assist in a 4-1 win in Game 4 after missing a 5-3 loss in Game 3 with an undisclosed injury. Tampa Bay's other co-leader, Nikita Kucherov, was shaken up eight minutes into the second period Tuesday, but returned and had several scoring chances in the third period and overtime.

Cooper called it 'œhard to tell right now'ť as to whether Point will be able to play Thursday.

One thing Hedman was sure of, is knowing the Lightning will bounce back.

'œIt came down to one play. It's tough for us obviously, but this is hockey,'ť Hedman said. 'œIt's how you respond to this that's going to define you as a team. I'm not worried about how our group's going to respond to this.'ť

The Islanders opened the scoring 15:41 in on Pulock's power-play goal, just their second in 15 opportunities this series.

The Lightning responded with Hedman tying the game 4 minutes into the second period.

Tampa Bay's Carter Verhaeghe had a goal overturned 10:01 into the second period, when the Islanders challenged the play for being offside. Replays showed Tampa Bay's Cedric Paquette clearly entered New York's zone well ahead of the puck.

The Lightning dropped to 4-1 in overtime games this postseason, including a 5-4 5OT win over Columbus in Game 1 of their first-round series.

The Islanders continue to persevere in being the only team left that played a best-of-five preliminary round series, and showed signs of fatigue in opening the series against Tampa Bay with an 8-2 loss.

New York's offense has fizzled in managing just 11 goals against Tampa Bay, including a 5-3 win in Game 3. The Islanders had combined for 28 goals in their previous eight games.

Coach Barry Trotz shook up his lines Tuesday, shifting Cal Clutterbuck to the Islanders' top line alongside Lee and Barzal. Clutterbuck took the spot of Eberle, who opened the game alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Matt Martin.

'œOur guys didn't waver - they just kept grinding,'ť Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. 'œWe didn't give up and that's a great sign for moving forward.'ť

NOTES: Isles D Johnny Boychuk returned after sustaining a head injury in the third period of a playoff-opening 2-1 win over Florida on Aug. 1. ... Boychuk had an eventful first period. He was doubled over in pain after getting struck by Nikita Kucherov's shot six minutes in. In the final minute of the first period, Boychuk's skate blade broke, and he had difficulty getting to the bench, after blocking Hedman's shot from the left point. ... Hedman's goal was his eighth, the most by a defenseman in the playoffs since Brian Leetch scored 11 for the 1994 Cup-winning New York Rangers.

UP NEXT

Game 6 is Thursday night at 8 p.m. EDT.

___

For more AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

New York Islanders celebrate a win over the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second overtime in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Eastern Conference final, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

New York Islanders right wing Jordan Eberle celebrates after scoring against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second overtime in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Eastern Conference final, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

New York Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock (6) celebrates his goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning with teammates during the first period of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Eastern Conference final, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (77) celebrates his goal against the New York Islanders with Barclay Goodrow (19) during the second period of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Eastern Conference final, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli (71) and New York Islanders center Brock Nelson (29) collide along the boards during the first period of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Eastern Conference final, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Tampa Bay Lightning center Cedric Paquette (13) and New York Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk (55) work along the boards during the second period of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Eastern Conference final, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Zach Bogosian (24) is stopped by New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov (40) as Islanders defenseman Devon Toews (25) tries to block the shot during the second period of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Eastern Conference final, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Tampa Bay Lightning center Blake Coleman (20) is checked by New York Islanders defenseman Devon Toews (25) during the second period of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Eastern Conference final, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Article Comments

Article Categories
Content Providers Hockey NHL Pro Sports Sports Sports Leagues Sports Types

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.