TAMPA, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Lightning will compete for a second consecutive Stanley Cup title after shutting down the Islanders Friday night, with Yanni Gourde’s second-period goal.
“It’s becoming a broken record, but it’s not how many you put in the net, it’s how many you keep out,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after the game. “It’s a hard lesson to learn, especially the players coming up today and the skill, the rules getting put into place that open up skill and to skate and to score. But when you get to the playoffs it’s about defending.”
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped all of New York’s 18 shots. Varlamov had 30 saves for the Islanders on Tampa’s 31 shots.
The Lightning are the first defending champions to reach the Stanley Cup Final since the Pittsburgh Penguins won back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017.
The Lightning will face the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of championship round starting Monday.
Other News: The Rock Stops Here: Rock Riley With Former MLB Catcher Toby Hall
Android Users, Click Here To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. It’s Free And Coming To Apple Users Soon.
Support journalism by clicking here to our gofundme or sign up for our free newsletter by clicking here