Game 4 Preview: Islanders vs Lightning

NEW YORK ISLANDERS VS TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
GM 4 | SEPT. 13 | 3 PM | ROGERS PLACE
LIGHTNING LEAD BEST-OF-SEVEN SERIES 2-1
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With a 5-3 Game 3 win on Friday night, the New York Islanders cut their series deficit to 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Game 4 will be a crucial opportunity for the Isles to try and even the series and make it a best-of-three. Game 4 is slated for 3 p.m. E.T. puck drop at Rogers Place.

"Game 2 gave us the confidence that we would Game 3 Now, you've got within a game of getting the series tied up," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "That's going to give us a bit of a boost. At the same time, Tampa Bay has been there before, they've been in the conference final many times, they're a veteran team as well. They'll get Alex] Killorn back for sure and maybe [Brayden] Point. They're going to have their best game and we've got to have our best game."
**ISLES-LIGHTNING GAME 4**
**ISLES-BOLTS ARTICLES**
[Ledecky Surprises Isles Fans
Lamoriello Wins GM of the Year
Islanders Playoff Hub
ISLES-BOLTS VIDEO
Lou Lamoriello Availability: 9/12
Barry Trotz Availability: 9/12
Dal Colle & Pulock Availability: 9/12
ISLES PLAYOFF PROMOS
Play Fan Faceoff
Playoff Auction
Playoff Getup Challenge
For the Islanders, there was a lot to like about their effort in Game 3, but also some areas that need refining. For starters, the Isles have made a point to try and improve their starts, but were caught on their heels early in Game 3 as Tampa came out 'buzzing,' according to Trotz. The Isles also relinquished a 3-1 lead in the third period as the Lightning tied the score 3-3 with just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation.
"I didn't like our start, but I liked our response after it was 3-3," Trotz said. "There's good parts of that game that I don't like and there's parts of Game 2 that I thought was a better game in some areas [for us]. There's a level in our game and certain things that we'll have to do better."
The positive for the Islanders, was their resilience in Game 3 despite giving up their lead. The team was able to stick to their process and details without playing desperate. In turn, their patience paid off and they were awarded with a golden opportunity where they capitalized on a forced turnover to allow Brock Nelson to net the game-winner.
"It's being comfortable when it's uncomfortable," Trotz said. "We were up 3-1 and it got uncomfortable...There was half a period to go and you're thinking, 'Here we go. Let's get on our toes rather than our heels.' The calmness was let's get on our toes a little bit here and start playing our game. I thought we did that. It's uncomfortable at times, but instead of getting all panicky and trying not to lose the game, you play to win the game. Playing to win the game is not taking all the risks, it's making sure you're winning your moment."

CIZIKAS UPDATE:

Casey Cizikas did not play in Game 3 and remains a game-time decision for Game 4 per Trotz.
"It's the same as yesterday," Trotz said. "It will be game-time. That's where we're at right now."
In Cizikas' absence, Jean-Gabriel Pageau filled the center position alongside Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck while Derick Brassard centered a line with Michael Dal Colle and Leo Komarov.
"I thought we responded pretty well," Trotz said of adjusting to a lineup without Cizikas. "I thought Pageau going in Casey's spot, we got a couple of goals [from that line]. Brassard's line did a good job. Nelson's line got on the board. Barzy's line didn't get on the board, but they had some good looks, they just need to get on the board. We're in good shape in terms of our energy level coming out of that last series. We're on a little more even ground than we were to start the series. You can lean on those guys more if you need to."

BOOST FROM THE BLUELINE

With Adam Pelech's goal in the second period - and his first-career playoff goal - the Islanders have now received scoring contributions from 17 different players in the postseason. Pelech was the sixth defenseman to find the back of the net for the Islanders, marking the first time in franchise history six blueliners have scored in a single playoff. Even during the Isles domination where they won four-straight Stanley Cups, they did not receive goals from six different defensemen.
"We try to activate our defense at the right time," Trotz said. "Other teams have more of those types of players where they're activating almost every shift. We're probably more selective on that. But when they do [join the offense], they're all more than capable of contributing. That's a little bit of our philosophy; is that when you can join and can have an effect offensively in a positive way at the right time then, you get the green light to do that any time. But if it's a 50-50 proposition, then let's go to the defend mode in terms of protecting our backend and our goaltender as much as we can."

PICKING UP THE PHYSICALITY

A crucial component of the Islanders identity is their ability to smother their opponent with their physicality and tenacity without the puck. While taxing at times, Trotz noted that the Islanders success in this series has resulted from their gritty and relentless play to create turnovers and counterattack.
The Isles showcased their physical edge in Game 3 and Tampa was forced to emit a physical game back. A combined total of 106 hits were exchanged between teams, as Tampa outhit the Isles 62-44. In the series, the Isles are outhitting the Lightning 141-140.
"That's the style we like to play," Ryan Pulock said. "We like to continue to invest. We like to play hard and physical. It doesn't matter who you are. If you're getting hit every shift it wears on you. That's part of our goal and some of our success so far in this playoffs has been wearing teams down. That's something we're going to continue to do."

TAMPA NOTES:

• With the Game 3 loss, the Lightning snapped their six-game winning streak as they suffered just their fourth loss of the postseason.
• Ondrej Palat scored his sixth goal of the postseason and his sixth goal in the last seven games.
• Nikita Kucherov extended his point streak to three games with seven points (2G, 5A) during that span. The winger is tied for the most postseason points with his 23 (6G, 17A) and has only gone without a point in three games.
• The Lightning were without forwards Killorn and leading goal scorer Point (8G, 23P) in Game 3. Killorn did not play and served his one-game suspension for a late hit on Brock Nelson in Game 2. Point was sidelined with an injury he sustained in Game 2. In their place, Carter Verhaeghe and Mitchell Stephens joined the lineup. Even with Killorn and Point sidelined, Tampa still opted to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
• Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper did not have an update on Point's status.