Game 4 Notebook: Isles Lose 4-1, Pushed to Brink of Elimination

The New York Islanders have been pushed to the brink of elimination.
The Islanders trail the Tampa Bay Lightning three games to one in the Eastern Conference Final, following a 4-1 loss in Game 4 on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Place. Their season will be on the line when the teams meet in Game 5 on Tuesday night.
"We've got one life left," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "This group has invested too much to not give their best effort on Tuesday."

Brock Nelson opened the scoring in the second period, but the Lightning responded with four unanswered goals, including a pair of strikes 12 seconds apart immediately after Nelson's goal to turn the game.
"You want to follow up a goal with a good shift and have a good response and stay on it. They had a better response than we did and got two quick ones," Nelson said. "That was the difference really, only 30 seconds there, if you can hang on there for a bit it's a different game."
Blake Coleman, Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point and Pat Maroon scored for the Lightning, who got a big effort from their top line. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves in the win, while Semyon Varlamov stopped 32-of-35 shots in the loss.

LIGHTNING STRIKES SINK ISLES IN SECOND PERIOD:

The Islanders were able to weather an early storm from the Lightning, staying in a scoreless contest despite managing just eight shots on goal in the game's first half. But when the goals came, they came quickly as the Isles and Bolts combined for three tallies in 27 seconds.
Nelson opened the scoring at 11:27 of the second period, wiring his ninth goal of the playoffs top corner past Vasilevskiy. Nelson pulled a nifty move to get himself in scoring position, skating towards the blueline before spinning off of Yanni Gourde and back into the slot.
Whatever momentum the Isles captured was taken away with lightning speed, as Coleman buried a breakaway 15 seconds later. Coleman was sprung by a long-range aerial pass from Gourde that he caught up to just in front of Varlamov for the tying goal.
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Tampa struck again 12 seconds after Coleman's goal, with the top line hooking up for a tally off the rush. Brayden Point dished to Nikita Kucherov, who sent a pass to an open Ondrej Palat in the slot, who just beat Semyon Varlamov blocker side.
"The most important shift is probably the shift after a goal and we failed it twice," Scott Mayfield said.
With the dam effectively burst, the Isles had a pair of golden chances to tie the score before the end of the period. Devon Toews hit the post on an Islanders power play, and Mathew Barzal had an open-net try deflected out of play by Ryan McDonagh.
The close calls proved costly, as Lightning already held a perfect 6-0 record when leading after two periods, before Point made it 3-1 at the 3:33 mark of the third. It was another tic-tac-toe play off the rush for Tampa's top line, with Kucherov going out wide to Palat who hit Point crashing the net for the tap-in goal.
The Islanders had a power-play chance late in the third, but could not convert and Maroon effectively iced the game with an empty-netter with 2:24 to play.
The loss forces the Isles into a do-or-die situation on Tuesday, marking the second time their season will be on the line - the other being Game 7 against Philadelphia.
"We can't change what's happened, obviously we'd like a different result," Nelson said. "We're here now with a chance, our backs are against the wall and we just have to go out there and play and give everything we have. It's going to take a little more from everybody and we have the group in here that believes in each other to go out there and get the job done. We just have to start with one."

Video: TBL@NYI, Gm4: Nelson opens scoring with snipe

JOHNSTON IN, DAL COLLE OUT:

With the physicality ramping up in the series, Ross Johnston was inserted into the lineup for Game 4, taking the place of Michael Dal Colle. Johnston only saw 6:48 TOI and played on a line with Derick Brassard and Leo Komarov, which generated a few good looks and some extended zone time in the second period.
Casey Cizikas missed his second-straight game and has left the bubble with an undisclosed injury. Tom Kuhnhackl has also left the bubble with an undisclosed injury.

POINT, KILLORN RETURN FOR LIGHTNING:

The Lightning got a pair of reinforcements on Sunday, as Point and Alex Killorn returned to the lineup. Point missed Game 3 with an injury, while Killorn was serving a one-game suspension.
Point's return was especially effective for the Lightning as he finished the game with a goal and an assist, part of a six-point night (2G, 4A) for Tampa's top line. Kucherov (2A) and Palat (1G, 1A) also had two points each.
"Their first line is probably about a plus-six or seven right now in this series," Trotz said. "Their first line has put a mark on us in a couple of games here."
Killorn skated 18:17 with three hits and two blocks.
Carter Verhaeghe and Mitchell Stephens came out of the lineup for the Lightning, who went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the fourth-straight game in this series.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders and Lightning meet in Game 5 on Tuesday night at 8 p.m.