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Bishop had 28 saves and recorded his fifth career shutout in
the Stanley Cup playoffs as the Lightning earned a 4-0 win
against the Islanders in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference second
round series on Sunday.
The Lightning won the best-of-seven series 4-1 and advanced to
the Eastern Conference Finals to face the winner of the series
between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins.
"I think we learned last year we had a couple series where we
had chances to close them out at home and we kind of let them
slip," Bishop said. "We really wanted to take pride in closing
teams out this year."
Defenseman Victor Hedman scored twice while Nikita Kucherov had
his ninth goal of the postseason as the Lightning advance to the
conference finals for the second consecutive year.
"This is a great accomplishment for this team," Hedman said. "I
don't think too many people picked us to get this far,
especially considering the injuries."
Hedman gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 13:49 of the first
period when he took control of a loose puck and beat Islanders
goalie Thomas Greiss at the near post.
Lightning center Brian Boyle scored his third goal of the
postseason at 18:41 in the first period to make the score 2-0.
Defenseman Matt Carle went behind the net and passed the puck to
Boyle, who snapped a shot past Greiss above his shoulder.
"Start to finish, we played really well," Boyle said. "We were
hard on pucks, we made sure we got the puck in deep, we didn't
turn it over in the neutral zone and give them many
opportunities. We played a great game.
"Obviously, one we needed to, and again Bishop was there for
us."
Hedman's second goal came on a Lightning power play at 4:22 in
the second period. Jonathan Drouin made a backhand pass that
banked off the boards, and Hedman scored on a one-timer from the
right circle to make the score 3-0.
"(The Lightning) took advantage of their opportunities,"
Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "You know we came in here
(Sunday), I thought the game plan was good. We surrendered 18
shots even strength, and, I mean, if you asked me that going in
we would take it.
"We gave up seven on our power play, but you know we just
couldn't find a way here these last few games to score some
goals. At the end of the day, like I said, you have to get more
than one, and we didn't get any (on Sunday)."
Kucherov added a goal at 4:40 in the third period on a breakaway
to give the Lightning a 4-0 lead.
Greiss made 21 saves for the Islanders.
"It is definitely going to sting for a while," Greiss said.
"It was a tough loss and a tough loss in the series. I think it
was a very tight series for a 4-1 series.
"We could have easily won some games at home and came (to Tampa
Bay) and have done different kind of things. It will sting for a
long time, but you have to get over it."
The Islanders were held to just one goal in the final two games
of the series. Center John Tavares was held without a point in
the final four games.
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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