Game 2 of the best-of-seven semifinal series
will be Tuesday in Tampa.
Brayden Point tallied for the Lightning while Andrei Vasilevskiy
made 29 saves for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who trail
in a series for the first time this postseason.
After a scoreless opening period in which the visitors withstood
an early Tampa Bay push before recovering, Barzal's breakaway
tally beyond the midway point opened the scoring. Josh Bailey
intercepted Steven Stamkos' ill-advised, cross-ice pass just
inside the New York blue line and sent a long pass for Barzal to
receive at top speed.
Barzal held off a check and slipped a shot through Vasilevskiy's
legs to net his fourth goal in the last five games at the 12:32
mark of the middle frame.
Pulock's point-shot blast doubled the New York lead at 5:36 of
the third period and held up as the game winner. New York's
forecheckers did a masterful job to gain the puck in the
offensive zone and, after Jordan Eberle pulled the puck from the
scrum and sent it to the point, Pulock fired a rocket that
cleanly beat Vasilevskiy.
Point put the Lightning on the board when he netted a power-play
goal with 53.7 seconds remaining in regulation, finishing a wild
scramble while his team had pulled the goalie for the extra
attacker, but that was as close as the Lightning could get.
Although he wasn't called upon to make the highlight-reel saves
Vasilevskiy provided, Varlamov earned full marks for the victory
with a couple of notable saves against Alex Killorn.
As well, his team did a remarkable job keeping Tampa Bay's big
guns in check. Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov both managed only one
shot on goal each as the Lightning were nearly shut out in the
playoffs for the first time since their Game 7 loss in the
conference finals to the Washington Capitals on May 23, 2018.
--Field Level Media
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