Lightning rout Isles 8-2 in East finals opener

[September 08, 2020]  Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov both posted five-point games as the Tampa Bay Lightning opened the Eastern Conference finals with an 8-2 trouncing of the New York Islanders on Monday night in Edmonton.

Point collected two goals and three assists, while Kucherov added one goal and four assists for the Lightning, who needed only a 22-save performance from goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy for the win. Tampa Bay tied a franchise record for most goals in a playoff game.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff series will be Wednesday.

Point, riding a seven-game point streak in which he has amassed four goals and 12 assists, opened the scoring just 74 seconds into the clash. He gained the puck at center ice, raced around defenseman Ryan Pulock and then deked out starting goalie Thomas Greiss.

New York's Jordan Eberle tied the score when he pounced on a rebound for a power-play goal at 4:33 of the first period, but it was all Lightning thereafter.

Victor Hedman netted a man-advantage marker when he blasted a point shot home at 8:12 of the opening frame. Ryan McDonagh tallied to make it a 3-1 game by wiring a slapper at the 10:46 mark to chase Greiss to the bench, the victim of three goals on nine shots, in favor of Semyon Varlamov.

The switch didn't help the Islanders, who were showing signs of fatigue after clinching their previous series in seven games on Saturday in Toronto before flying west.

Yanni Gourde added to the Lightning lead when he slipped a shot just over the line during a scramble four minutes into the second period, and then Point potted his second of the game on another power play by redirecting a Hedman shot at 13:18 of the middle frame.

Lighting defenseman Victor Hedman (77) handles the puck while pressured by New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal (13) during the first period in game one of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

Kucherov extended the lead when he redirected a cross-ice pass from Point six minutes into the third period. New York's Nick Leddy and Tampa Bay's Ondrej Palat traded goals 45 seconds apart before the midway point of the final frame. Palat's goal was his sixth in a five-game, goal-scoring run.

Gourde's second of the night, a power-play goal with 6:45 left in the game, finished the onslaught.

Varlamov stopped 20 of 25 shots for the Islanders, who also saw veteran winger Cal Clutterbuck not take any shifts after blocking a Mikhail Sergachev slap shot during the second period.

--Field Level Media

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