5 Takeaways: Islanders Stay Alive With 3-2 Comeback Win in Game 6

There will be a Game 7.
The New York Islanders kept their season alive on Wednesday night, scoring a 3-2 OT win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in a thrilling Game 6 at Nassau Coliseum.
Anthony Beauvillier scored the winner 1:08 into the extra frame, completing a dramatic comeback that saw the Islanders dig themselves out of a 2-0 hole to upend the Lightning.

"Obviously an amazing feeling, couldn't be more happy," Beauvillier said. "A big game from everyone today. Everyone wanted to go back to Tampa for Game 7 and we earned the opportunity to do that."
They earned it alight, setting the stage for a do-or-die Game 7 on Friday night in Tampa and a chance to go to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1984.
Here are five takeaways from a thrilling Game 6:

BEAU BREAKS OUT IN OT:

After a red-hot start to the playoffs, Beauvillier had gone a little cold, going 10 games without a goal.
The 24-year-old picked a clutch time to bust out of his slump, intercepting a Blake Coleman pass deep in the Lightning zone, roofing his fifth goal of the postseason high glove on Vasilevskiy.
Beauvillier joked that he blacked out during the play, but was mobbed by his teammates, who swarmed him at the glass as beer cans rained down from the Coliseum crowd.
"The building coming into overtime was smelling like cigarettes and now it smells like beers," Beauvillier said. "That place was going crazy. Everyone is happy we're going back to Tampa and huge effort from our team today."

ISLES KEEP THE FAITH AFTER FALLING BEHIND:

As much as the Islanders liked their game in the first half of the contest, they found themselves in a precarious position, trailing Tampa 2-0 on a first-period goal from Brayden Point and a second-period tally from Anthony Cirelli.
Point opened the scoring for the Lightning, lighting the lamp for a ninth-consecutive game. The Lightning's star scorer blocked Adam Pelech's clearing attempt behind the net, skated out front and was able to backhand an Alex Killorn rebound past Semyon Varlamov at 16:02.
Down 1-0, the Islanders had a prime opportunity to even up the contest, getting a minute long five-on-three power play in the second period. The Islanders had a couple of looks, but couldn't capitalize, with Andrei Vasilevskiy swallowing up a Ryan Pulock blast and the Bolts laying out for a pair of blocks.
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Eberle's Backhander
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The missed five-on-three opportunity proved to be costly, as Cirelli made it 2-0 Lightning at 12:36, taking a stretch pass from Ondrej Palat and beating Varlamov five-hole off the rush. Cirelli's goal was the Lightning's 12th consecutive score, dating back to the third period of Game 4, and to make matters worse, the team who had scored first had not trailed in any of the previous five wins.
Regardless, the Islanders remained unfazed.
"We're obviously a resilient group and we had a lot of time on the clock still," Mathew Barzal said. "So, just stuck with it and was fortunate enough to get two goals and tie it up and obviously win in overtime."
The Islanders knew they just needed one goal to ignite their offense and rekindle the energy in a boisterous Coliseum. Jordan Eberle delivered, cutting the deficit to 2-1 with 5:38 to play in the second period, taking a Barzal feed and beating Vasilevskiy with a mid-range backhander to revive the Isles.
"We needed it," Trotz said of Eberle's goal. "The way we were playing, I felt that we were going to be fine. They made it 2-0. Then, the game teeters a little bit, if they make it 3-0 it gets pretty daunting. But that was a big goal for us. We're back to square one as we were down a goal after the first period."

The Islanders rode the momentum from the end of the second and came out with a furious push in the third period with their season on the line. They had their chances, with Kyle Palmieri outwaiting a sprawled out Vasilevskiy, but unable to tuck in a puck at the side of the net. The Coliseum did its part to give the Isles a break, when a dump-in kicked off the boards with Vasilesvkiy out of the net, but the Lightning goaltender got back just in time to kick out an Eberle backhand.
The Islanders had the first seven shots of the period, with the seventh tying up the score 2-2 and rewarding the Islanders for their relentless pressure. Scott Mayfield pinched off the blueline, taking a feed from Barzal and going high short side on Vasilesvkiy for his second goal of the postseason.
The Lightning made a push of their own after Mayfield's equalizer, with Victor Hedman recording Tampa's first shot of the period at the 11:26 mark. Tampa had five shots on a late power play, but the Islanders held the fort to get to overtime. Eberle even had a chance late in the third to end it, catching Vasilevskiy a little off guard with a sharp-angled shot.
"A lot of character in this room," Beauvillier said. "No one was quitting on this game."

Video: TBL@NYI, Gm6: Mayfield scores off bar for tying goal

ISLES MAKE A MOMENT:

Trotz has talked at length about moments in the postseason and enjoying the unique opportunities presented in the playoffs. Beauvillier's goal - and a sheet of ice covered in cans - to complete a comeback was certainly another memorable one.
"I love this group, the character of this group," Trotz said. "And I would say this building and what it's meant to a number of players and more than anything, our fans. Coming off the ice, everybody is hugging each other, there's beer cans flying all over. It's quite a sight. These are moments that you will remember. These are great memories to have. But we've got to get another one."

PENALTY KILL COMES UP HUGE:

After giving up three power-play goals in Game 5, the Isles penalty kill was a perfect 2-for-2 on Wednesday night. The gravity of the kills outweighed the quantity, especially late in the third period when Matt Martin was whistled for high-sticking Pat Maroon.
The Islanders kept the Lightning from setting up in the first minute, but Tampa unleashed give shots in the back half of the power play, including a shot from Point in the slot and a Steven Stamkos one-timer from the left dot.
It was the biggest defensive moment of the game for the Islanders, allowing them to get to OT.
"When you get saves on a kill like that when they have some momentum, hockey is a funny game, usually it shifts the other way and it seemed to be the difference," Eberle said. "We're just fighting to keep ourselves alive here."

KUCHEROV LEAVES GAME:

Nikita Kucherov left the game in the first period and did not return. Lightning coach Jon Cooper did not have an update on the playoff's leading scorer after the game.

NEXT GAME:

Thankfully for the Islanders, there will be a next game, as they travel to Tampa for Game 7. After bowing out in six games last season, Friday's contest will mark the furthest the Islanders have advanced in a postseason since reaching the 1984 Stanley Cup Final.
As Trotz says, enjoy the moment. Puck drop will be at 8 p.m.