5 Takeaways: Islanders Even Series with Clutch Game 4 Win

Series tied... and just getting started.
After dropping two-straight games, the New York Islanders responded to bring themselves right back in the mix against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
With a full team-effort to seal the 3-2 victory in Game 4 on Saturday night at Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders evened the semifinals series against the Lightning 2-2.
It was a pesky win from the drop of the puck until the final buzzer, courtesy of a Ryan Pulock-goal line save. And it was a hard-earned win that tested the group's grit. After taking a 3-0 lead heading into the final period with second-period tallies from Josh Bailey, Mathew Barzal and Matt Martin, the Islanders had to dig in as the defending Stanley Cup champs ushered an attempted comeback with a pair of third-period goals from Brayden Point and Tyler Johnson.
Despite the lapse, the Islanders rose to the challenge and were able to hold on. The win was backstopped by Semyon Varlamov, who made 28 saves on 30 shots. On the flip side, Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves on 30 shots.

"It's playoffs and nothing should surprise anybody," Trotz said. "That's the great thing about our game, we can bring you out of your seats right until the last minute. What a save by [Pulock]. That will be remembered. I thought we played a really good game. Obviously, we had a huge surge in the second period and they had their surge in the third. With about five minutes to go, after the timeout, at crunch time if you will I thought we had some incredible shifts...At the end, we got one. Real good effort."

SECOND-PERIOD SCORING SURGE

Following a scoreless, but feisty first period, the Islanders offense exploded with a three-goal effort from Bailey, Barzal and Martin to take a commanding 3-0 lead.
"That's how our team has success," Bailey said. "Different nights different guys are stepping up. You need that in the postseason if you're going to make a run. I thought everyone was playing hard."
On a quick rush play, Bailey delivered the game's icebreaker at 5:30. As Nelson took on two of Tampa's players, he halted his stride, spun and sent a cross-slot feed to Bailey who had just entered the zone off the bench. From the high slot, Bailey took his time and sniped a shot over Vasilevskiy's glove.

The Coliseum immediately exploded with 'Hey, Josh Bailey!' chants.
With the momentum in their favor backed by a jazzed Coliseum crowd, the Islanders doubled their lead 2-0 at 13:46. Leading up to the goal, Point lost his stick, which left Barzal faintly covered. As Cal Clutterbuck stepped on the ice for a line change, he fired a shot from the point. Vasilevskiy kicked the puck out to the backdoor and straight onto the stick of Barzal for the effortless tap-in.
On that same shift, Palmieri and Bolts blueliner Mikhail Sergachev were assessed with unsportsmanlike conduct at 13:46. As the two minutes of four-on-four ensued, the Islanders received an overlap of power play as Eric Cernak boarded Anthony Beauvillier.
While the power play was unsuccessful, the Islanders revved off the momentum. Adam Pelech and Clutterbuck, who had just earned assists on Barzal's goal, prompted the sequence for Martin's late lead-extending tally with 2:03 left in the period. With Clutterbuck crowding the netfront, his shot deflected off of a shielded Vasilevskiy and out to the bottom of the faceoff circle to Martin. The winger tossed a backhander into twine to make it 3-0.

TAMPA ATTEMPTS COMEBACK, ISLANDERS DIG IN

Down 3-0, the Lightning ushered a stunning response in the third period and showcased their resolve as the defending Stanley Cup champs. With a pair of goals, from Point and Johnson, in the span of 2:58, the Bolts made it a one-goal game which prompted Trotz to use his timeout.
Point continued his big-game heroics as the centerman put Tampa on the board at 3:45 into the period to rob Varlamov of the shutout. Point entered the zone and sniped a wrist shot to the low blocker side of Varlamov. In doing so, he extended his goal streak to seven games.
ISLES-BOLTS GAME 4
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ISLANDERS BOLTS VIDEO
Full Highlights
Bailey's Top-Shelf Snipe
Barzal Buries Rebound
Martin's Backhander
Pulock Saves Game
Postgame: Barzal and Bailey
Postgame: Pulock and Martin
Postgame: Trotz
KINGER'S CALLS
Bailey Roofs Icebreaker
Barzal Buries Rebound
Martin's Marker
Just shy of three minutes later and buzzing with momentum, Johnson grabbed a loose puck, circled behind the cage, deked into the slot and ripped his shot over Varlamov's glove to make it a 3-2 game with 13 minutes remaining.
After Trotz utilized his timeout, the Islanders regrouped and settled down.
"I didn't have to say a lot, this group is a pretty mature group," Trotz said. "I just said, 'Listen, we've got 10 minutes to go. We've been here before. Let's take a deep breath and worry about taking care of business in the last 10 minutes.'
They weathered Tampa's push. The intensity amped up in the final few minutes of the game, as the Islanders went on the power play on a Victor Hedman tripping penalty at 18:48.
Despite being on the PK, Tampa created one last desperate effort. After Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper used his timeout and the Bolts won the next faceoff, havoc broke out in front of the Islanders net.
Bolts defenseman Ryan McDonagh corralled a puck from the left faceoff circle, faked a shot that drew Varlamov out of his cage and had Nelson hit the deck in an attempt to block it. McDonagh spun off Nelson and shoveled a backhander on the open net, but Pulock came sliding in to smother the shot and preserve the regulation win for his team.
"McDonagh got the puck walking down and Varlamov made the challenge," Pulock explained. "[McDonagh] made a heck of a play with the spin-o-rama. The net was open. I just tried to make myself big and take it away and get it. You hear the sound of the clock going and all the boys jump on you, it's a good feeling."
"I thought it was going in," Barzal said postgame. "What a miraculous play by [Pulock]. I'm not going to be forgetting that one."

SHUFFLING LINES

While Trotz didn't opt to make any differing personnel changes to his lineup and dressed the same group that he has since Game 5 of the first round against Pittsburgh, he jumbled his lines a bit. In return, the alterations provided a much-needed spark in the Islanders offense.
Kyle Palmieri and Leo Komarov swapped positions on the wing, as Palmieri skated alongside Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle while Komarov slotted next to Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Travis Zajac.
"It was something I'd been contemplating each game," Trotz said. "They're low-scoring games. I don't think we can get into a track meet with this team. They finish so well. I just felt that I had last change and there was more cadence in this game. I felt that that would be the easier switch for me tonight."
With a noticeable buzz present among the Barzal line and the Pageau line, the other two lines that stayed intact; the Beauvillier, Nelson, Bailey line and the Martin, Casey Cizikas, Clutterbuck line, were equally feeling it.
The Nelson line ignited the scoring as it recorded its first even-strength goal of the series. Barzal came up with a timely goal in a greasy area of the crease and Martin potted the eventual game winner. It was a total team effort up and down the lineup and showcased the Islanders success when being able to roll all four lines.

VALIANT VARLAMOV

The team win was backstopped by a valiant effort by the Islanders netminder.
Varlamov was locked in from the get-go and even in the face of abrasive pushes by the desperate Lightning.
He was tested early on in the game with Tampa's 11 shots. While the Lightning fired off an 11-4 shot advantage there weren't many menacing looks from the Bolts. The few dangerous chances he did see - including an Alex Killorn toe drag across the crease and a Ross Colton wrister from the low slot - he made the necessary stops with a pad save and glove save.
After the Bolts made it a one-goal game in the third period, Varlamov stood tall. The veteran Russian made timely saves and key stops on some of Tampa's high-octane offensive threats. Namely, he stoned a one-timer from Nikita Kucherov that was fired from the faceoff circle in the midst of a blazing Tampa push.
Varlamov improved his record to 6-5 in the postseason.

COLISEUM GOES CRAZY

There's nothing quite like Saturday night hockey at the Coliseum and the Islanders Blue and Orange faithful brought it.

From before the game, where fans took in the beautiful summer weather with their pre-game tailgating festivities, to bringing the enthusiasm with their new tradition of singing along to the national anthem and all the way until the final nail-biting buzzer, the Coliseum was rocking.
The packed Coliseum was deafening at times as they belted spirited chants. Everything from 'Hey, Josh Bailey!' to "Un-cle Le-o!' to 'Pageau, Pageau, Pageau, Pageau!' to 'Matt-y Mart-in' and everything in between, the crowd was engaged the entire game.
As the game came down to the final wire, the atmosphere was electric, reaching such intense decibels the roof seemed as though it would collapse.
And because of Saturday's win, the Coliseum will see at least one more game on Wednesday night.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders have the chance to overtake the series lead as they head down to Tampa to take on the Lightning in Game 5 at Amalie Arena on Monday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m.