Jon Cooper isn't expecting another blowout victory for his Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final.
"You've got to take advantage of a tired team," the head coach told the assembled media, including Fox Sports Florida, after the Lightning rolled to an 8-2 win over the New York Islanders in Game 1 on Monday. "Let's be honest. This is a one-off."
New York eliminated the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 7 of its second-round series on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Lightning finished off the Boston Bruins in Game 5 of their matchup on Aug. 31.
Lightning stars Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov both racked up five points in Tampa Bay's Game 1 win. Point scored twice, including a dazzling first-period marker, but he downplayed his squad's dominance postgame.
"Let's be honest, we got a lot of bounces tonight," Point said, according to Bryan Burns of the team's website. "Things went well for us. We can't hang our hat on that."
Point may be on to something. Despite the six-goal margin, the possession and scoring-chance figures show the game was more evenly contested than it appeared.
Kucherov's goal moved him past Martin St. Louis as Tampa Bay's all-time playoff goals leader.
McDonagh's marker chased New York's starting goaltender Thomas Greiss late in the first period. The German netminder allowed three goals on nine shots before Semyon Varlamov replaced him. Varlamov didn't fare much better, stopping 20 of the 25 shots he faced.
The honor is bestowed annually upon the player who "best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey," with the Professional Hockey Writers Association voting on the award. Dallas Stars defenseman Stephen Johns and Philadelphia Flyers forward Oskar Lindblom were the other two finalists.
Ryan left the Senators to enter the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program in November. He rejoined the club in late February and notched a hat trick in his first home game following his return.
The 33-year-old later revealed he had struggled with alcohol abuse.
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner won the Masterton Trophy last season while with the New York Islanders.
“We will be seeing what the open market has to offer,” his representative, Todd Diamond, told The Athletic's Adam Vingan on Monday.
When asked if Granlund has ruled out rejoining the Predators, Diamond declined to answer directly, instead reiterating that his client won't re-sign before free agency begins.
Granlund will be one of the top free-agent forwards. The 28-year-old struggled after the Minnesota Wild traded him to Nashville in 2018-19, and he remained inconsistent at the start of this season.
However, the Finnish veteran raised his game when the Predators hired John Hynes to replace Peter Laviolette as their head coach in January. Granlund posted only six goals and 14 points across the first 35 games of the campaign under Laviolette, but he led the club with 11 goals in the 28 regular-season contests following Hynes' hiring. His average ice time also rose from 16:45 to 19:07 after the coaching change.
The Wild traded Granlund to the Predators for forward Kevin Fiala in February 2019. Granlund spent the first six seasons of his career with Minnesota, which dealt him to Nashville during his seventh. The Wild drafted him ninth overall in 2010.
Granlund is in the final campaign of a three-year, $17.25-million contract he inked with Minnesota in summer 2017.
The NHL's bubble plan continues to work, as the league maintained zero positive COVID-19 tests among staff and players for the seventh consecutive week, it announced Monday.
The streak of zero positive tests includes the week leading up to the restart and all six weeks of playoff action thus far.
A total of 2,543 tests have been administered since the start of Phase 4.
All four remaining teams are now based in the Edmonton hub after the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders traveled from Toronto to participate in the Eastern Conference Final.
Vegas Golden Knights head coach Peter DeBoer believes his club didn't play nearly well enough to earn a win in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final on Sunday.
"Bottom line is we got what we deserved," DeBoer said following the 1-0 defeat to the Dallas Stars, according to The Athletic's Jesse Granger. "We didn't play hard enough for long enough tonight."
After a dramatic Game 7 victory over the Vancouver Canucks to reach their second conference finals in three years of existence, the top-seeded Golden Knights put together one of their worst performances of the playoffs.
Vegas managed only 46.91% of the shot attempts, 34.29% of scoring chances, and 41.39% of expected goals for the contest at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
DeBoer added that the Stars present a different challenge than Vegas' previous playoff opponents did.
"This is going to be a different series," he said. "We haven't played the best defensive team or one of the top two defensive teams in the league yet. So this is going to be a different series, and we're going to have to get our head around that and find a way to create offense. It's not going to look or feel like the last series or the (Chicago Blackhawks) series."
Dallas ranked second in goals against during the regular season, allowing only 2.52 per contest.
The Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders are set to do battle for Eastern Conference supremacy in what promises to be a highly entertaining series.
The Lightning and Islanders finished the regular season with the second- and seventh-best records in the East, respectively. The two clubs deploy different styles but each has utilized its unique methods to find postseason success.
New York won two of the teams' three regular-season meetings. They've faced off twice in the playoffs before, with the Lightning winning their most recent matchup - a 2016 second-round series - in five games.
Schedule
Game
Date
Time (ET)
Networks
1
Monday Sept. 7
8:00 p.m.
NBCSN/CBC/SN/TVAS
2
Wednesday Sept. 9
8:00 p.m.
NBCSN/CBC/TVAS
3
Friday Sept. 11
8:00p.m.
USA/CBC/SN/TVAS
4
Sunday Sept. 13
3:00 p.m.
NBC/CBC/SN/TVAS
5*
Tuesday Sept. 15
8:00 p.m.
NBCSN/CBC/SN/TVAS
6*
Thursday Sept. 17
8:00 p.m.
NBCSN/CBC/SN/TVAS
7*
Saturday Sept. 19
7:30 p.m.
NBC/CBC/SN/TVAS
* - If necessary
Tale of the tape
Lightning
Stat
Islanders
3.00
Goals per game
3.38
2.31
Goals against
1.94
17.1
Power-play percentage
17
81.3
Penalty-kill percentage
82.2
57.48
5-on-5 xGF percentage
55.36
8.01
5-on-5 SH percentage
9.3
.943
5-on-5 SV percentage
9.39
How they got here
Lightning: Tampa Bay went 2-1 in the round-robin stage before dispatching the Columbus Blue Jackets in five games in Round 1. That series featured a five-overtime marathon in Game 1, but the Lightning eventually overcame the pesky Blue Jackets in both the historically long contest and the series, exorcising their demons from last season's stunning first-round sweep.
That set up a high-octane clash with the Boston Bruins - Tampa Bay's fiercest competitor in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins won Game 1 but the Lightning stormed back with four consecutive victories, capped off by Victor Hedman's double-overtime winner.
The Lightning own a 10-3 record since the hiatus and have been firing on all cylinders.
Islanders: New York tidily handled the Florida Panthers with a four-game qualifying-round win. That set up a clash with the favored Washington Capitals, where the Islanders showed they're a legitimate threat in the East by outscoring the high-flying Capitals 17-8 and advancing in five games.
New York took on the top-seeded Philadelphia Flyers in Round 2. The Islanders jumped out to a 3-1 series lead but dropped the following two contests to pave the way for a decisive Game 7. However, the Islanders put on a vintage Barry Trotz-led performance in the winner-take-all contest, holding the Flyers to only 16 shots on goal and claiming a 4-0 victory to reach their first conference finals since 1993.
Key players to watch
Brayden Point
Elsa / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Point is cementing his status as one of the league's best young players by playing at a Conn Smythe level. The 23-year-old has been a force at both ends of the ice this postseason, leading his club with 18 points - 16 at even strength - in 13 games while also boasting a dominant expected goal rate of 65.22%.
Point's also logged over 21 minutes per contest in the absence of captain Steven Stamkos, who won't make a return during this series.
Mathew Barzal
Mark Blinch / National Hockey League / Getty
We might as well highlight each club's top center because Point going toe-to-toe with Barzal is easily this series' most exciting storyline.
Barzal, one of the NHL's most dynamic players, is having an outstanding postseason with 13 points in 16 games. He elevates his linemates with his terrific speed and playmaking abilities, and he almost always keeps the Islanders in control of the flow of the game. Barzal has 62.62% of expected goals this postseason, and New York is outscoring opponents 12-5 when he's on the ice at even strength.
If Barzal, an impending restricted free agent, can lead the Islanders to a Stanley Cup Final, you can bet he and his agent will bring that to the negotiating table with the team's brass.
Tampa Bay can win if ...
The depth steps up. While Point and linemate Nikita Kucherov have done much of the heavy lifting for Tampa Bay's offense, the bottom six hasn't gotten results. Players like Tyler Johnson (six points), Barclay Goodrow (three points), and Pat Maroon (two points), need to find ways to contribute against New York's stout defensive schemes. It'll be imperative for someone on the Lightning to pick up the slack if Tampa Bay's big guns get shut down.
Tampa Bay's lengthy layoff is another factor to monitor early in the series. The Lightning will have waited a week between games by the time the puck drops in Game 1, and any rust could go a long way in determining which team captures the early momentum.
New York can win if ...
It remains the aggressor. The Islanders play a simple yet effective system: establish a heavy forecheck, then shut their opponent's attempts to do the same. Three potent offenses in the Panthers, Capitals, and Flyers were unable to crack Trotz's methods, and it could also work against the Lightning if the system continues to run smoothly.
The Islanders are perhaps the NHL's most structurally sound unit, and it's become clear this postseason that everyone's bought into their team identity. Not veering from the game plan that brought them to this point will be crucial if they're to reach their first final since 1984.
X-factors
Victor Hedman
Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images Sport / Getty
It's not a secret at this point, but no player in this series is capable of having a bigger impact on a nightly basis than Hedman. The Lightning blue-liner is the definition of a workhorse, having averaged 26 minutes per contest this postseason while also ranking second on the team in points (nine) and shots on goal (44).
Hedman takes on top competition every night, yet Tampa Bay is outscoring opponents 13-3 at five-on-five in the playoffs when he's on the ice.
Josh Bailey
Elsa / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Bailey has flown under the radar as the Islanders' top postseason producer, racking up two goals and 15 assists in 16 games. He's been the catalyst in providing New York with an additional scoring punch while playing on the second line with Brock Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier.
Bailey's also been a factor on the power play, with six of his helpers coming with the man advantage. Special teams go a long way in determining a playoff series, and Bailey has played a big role on the Islanders' top unit.
