The Lightning rolled out an effective combination of Ondrej Palat and Brayden Point (Kucherov’s regular linemates) alongside Anthony Cirelli. Most directly, there’s how they handled Game 6, when Kucherov played 46 seconds.How the Lightning lined up without Kucherovįor better or worse, there’s plenty of data available regarding how the Lightning might handle line combos if Kucherov can’t play in Game 7. Smith, 27, played in five games for the Lightning this season, and hasn’t skated a shift in an NHL playoff game. If Cooper went with Smith in Game 7, it would be quite the challenge for the seldolmly-used Lightning forward. Joseph, Stephens + Schenn all still out here for scratches skate, so that’s a good sign for Erik Cernak.- Joe Smith June 25, 2021 Just reading the tea leaves here: Think Gemel Smith would draw in if Kucherov can’t go - he did work with Maroon, Colton and Halpern after skate. What are some lineup scenarios if the Lightning must try to beat the Islanders in Game 7 without Kucherov? But not knowing if Kucherov (comfortably leading the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 27 points) can play in Game 7? Yeah, that makes for an unnerving mystery. As of this writing, it simply sounds like a game-time decision.Ī Game 7 is almost always a coin flip, at least in hockey. On the morning before Islanders - Lightning Game 7, Lightning coach Jon Cooper simply said he did not know if Kucherov could play. (Mayfield would not endear himself to the Lightning or their fans afterward, also getting into a skirmish with Steven Stamkos, and scoring a big goal.) Kucherov left Game 6 early, and did not return, after getting cross-checked in the back/lower body by Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield. Here’s what we don’t know: if Kucherov will even be able to play for the Lightning against the Islanders in Game 7 on Friday ( 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN)Īdam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports.Here’s what we know: Nikita Kucherov made a huge impact for the Lightning during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. In that matchup the Lightning took a 2-0 series lead by outscoring them by a 10-3 margin, including an 8-2 win in Game 1 of the series. This is already a big improvement for the Islanders from their semifinal matchup a year ago. You never want to get too down on your team’s stars when they go a few games without scoring a goal because it is only a matter of time until they put together a stretch like this. Even the best players are prone to hot streaks and cold streaks. Along with the four goals, he has seven total points in his past six games. But because the Islanders were able to keep winning, it bought Barzal more time to bust out of his scoring slump and he has done so at the perfect time for the Islanders. It all happened after Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos gave the puck away to Josh Bailey, who then found Barzal up the ice with a perfect stretch pass to send him in on a partial breakaway where he would beat Andrei Vasilevskiy.īarzal opened the postseason with zero goals in his first eight games, recording just three assists during that time. He opened the scoring midway through the second period with his fourth goal in the past five games. Lightning trailed for 27:28 in game one vs Islanders- David Amber June 13, 2021īut the other big story on Sunday is the continued hot streak of Islanders star forward Mathew Barzal. Lightning trailed for only 20:17 during the entire Carolina series. They only trailed for 20 minutes in their entire Second Round series against the Carolina Hurricanes. It was also relatively unfamiliar territory for the Lightning this postseason as they spent the second half of the game trying to play catch up, trailing for more than 27 minutes. Semyon Varlamov stopped all but one of the 31 shots on goal he faced, with the only goal coming with less than a minute to play in regulation. It was not until the final three minutes of the game, when they were down by a pair of goals, that the Lightning started to generate more pressure. Normally the Islanders tend to be a team that gives up a fair number of shots and chances and relies on goaltending and keeping the play to the perimeter of the defensive zone. The only thing that made Sunday’s game just a little different than a lot of their other wins this postseason, though, is they not only kept the Lightning off the scoreboard, they also completely shut them down from a shots and shot attempts perspective for most of the game.
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