NY Islanders 3, Tampa Bay 2
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Where: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Referees:
Gord Dwyer, Chris Lee
Linesmen:
Bryan Pancich, Andrew Smith
Attendance:
12978
By Field Level Media
Anthony Beauvillier scored 1:08 into overtime as the host New York Islanders came back to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Wednesday in Uniondale, N.Y., forcing a decisive seventh game in the NHL semifinals.
Game 7 will be played Friday night in Tampa. The Lightning are the defending Stanley Cup champions while the Islanders are looking to get to the finals for the first time since 1984.
The Islanders, who lost 8-0 in Game 5, trailed 2-0 in Game 6 before Jordan Eberle scored in the second period and Scott Mayfield tied it in the third.
In overtime, Beauvillier stole the puck from Blake Coleman and beat goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy from point-blank range.
Beauvillier raced across the ice and went to his knees to begin a raucous celebration at Nassau Coliseum, which is closing at the end of the Islanders' playoff run. A capacity crowd of 12,978 roared and threw hats, giveaway towels and beer on the ice as Beauvillier was mobbed by his teammates.
New York goalie Semyon Varlamov made 22 saves.
Anthony Cirelli logged a goal and an assist and Brayden Point also scored for the Lightning. Vasilevskiy recorded 25 saves.
The Islanders had a couple of scoring chances -- Josh Bailey and Adam Pelech each fired wide of the net in a span of about eight minutes -- before the red-hot Point created a turnover behind the Lightning net that led to his latest goal.
Pelech tried clearing the puck, but Point deflected it with his stick. The puck skittered into the crease, where Cirelli's spinning shot bounced to Point, who fended off Pelech and sent a backhander shot over Varlamov's pads and into the corner of the net at 16:02 of the first period.
Point has scored a goal in nine consecutive games -- the second-longest streak in playoff history behind Reggie Leach, who scored in 10 straight games for the Philadelphia Flyers during the 1976 playoffs.
The Lightning doubled the lead at 12:36 of the second period. Ondrej Palat sent a clearing pass through the neutral zone to a wide-open Cirelli, who beat Varlamov from point-blank range for Tampa Bay's 12th unanswered goal dating back to the third period of Game 4.
The Islanders snapped the streak just 1:46 later. Eberle took a drop pass from Mathew Barzal and backhanded a shot between Tampa Bay defensemen Ryan McDonagh and David Savard as they converged upon Vasilevskiy in the crease.
Mayfield tied the score with 8:44 left in regulation when he rang a shot off the top post and in.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Tampa Bay |
|
NY Islanders |
|
Anthony Cirelli 2 |
Points |
Mathew Barzal 2 |
|
Anthony Cirelli 1 |
Goals |
Anthony Beauvillier 1 |
|
Anthony Cirelli 1 |
Assists |
Mathew Barzal 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Andrei Vasilevskiy .893 |
Save Percentage |
Semyon Varlamov .917 |
|
Andrei Vasilevskiy 25 |
Saves |
Semyon Varlamov 22 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Tampa Bay
|
24 |
2 |
0-2 |
3-3 |
8 |
20 |
| NY Islanders
|
28 |
3 |
0-3 |
2-2 |
6 |
28 |
Upcoming Games
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NY Islanders will play their next game on the road against Tampa Bay. The Islanders have a W/L % of .625 after a win and .478 after a loss.
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Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against NY Islanders. The Lightning have a W/L % of .639 after a win and .632 after a loss.
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