Written by Joe McDonald at ESPN.com
The Tampa Bay Lightning evened their Eastern Conference second-round series with a 4-1 victory over the New York Islanders in Game 2 Saturday at Amalie Arena. Game 3 will be played on Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
How it happened: Playing without captain Steven Stamkos while he continues to recover from his April 4 surgery to remove a blood clot near his collarbone, other players have had to step up their production for the Lightning. In the first six games of the postseason, forward Nikita Kucherov has been that player. He entered Game 2 with six goals and three assists for nine points this postseason. And Tyler Johnson answered the bell in Game 2, scoring two goals and adding an assist. But, it was the breakout performance by Jonathan Drouinthat proved crucial in Tampa’s victory over the Islanders. The 21-year-old, once-exiled forward scored his first career playoff goal at 11:55 of the first period to give the Lightning a 2-0 lead. His tally proved to be the game-winning goal. It was certainly a goal that Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss would want to have back, as the puck slipped through the five-hole. Either way, Drouin was buzzing all over the ice and added an assist on Victor Hedman’s power-play goal at 11:59 of the second period. Drouin was creating chances and getting shots on net throughout the game. Lightning goalie Ben Bishop, who was pulled in the second period of Game 1, responded with a solid 19-save performance. He’s now 12-3-1 in games after being pulled.
What it means: The Lightning’s win in Game 2 was a direct result of the play of Drouin and Hedman. Drouin, who has dealt with so much adversity this season, most of it self-inflicted, should use this performance as a confidence-builder.
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