Burns: 3 Things we learned from a Game 1 rout

Tampa Bay emphatically opened the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Islanders Monday following an 8-2 blowout victory in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series from Edmonton's Rogers Place.
The Lightning scored 74 seconds into the contest on the first of Brayden Point's two goals and never took their foot off the gas, racking up eight goals by the end of the game, tied for the goals all-time in a Lightning playoff game (also: Game 5 of a 2011 ECQF in an 8-2 win at Pittsburgh).
There was plenty to like about Tampa Bay's game in the ECF opener. Brayden Point (2 goals, 3 assists) and Nikita Kucherov (goal, 4 assists) each tallied five points to share a new Lightning benchmark for most points in a playoff game. Their linemate Ondrej Palat kept his goal streak going, extending it to five games and setting another Lightning record for longest postseason goal run.

The Lightning got contributions from their defense corps, Victor Hedman posting a goal and two assists, Ryan McDonagh scoring a pivotal goal to give the Lightning a 3-1 lead by the midpoint of the opening period and Kevin Shattenkirk tacking on three assists for his first playoff game with three or more points since the 2015 postseason.
In all, Lightning defensemen accounted for nine of Tampa Bay's 24 total points.
The Lightning power play contributed three goals in the rout, the second time in these playoffs the power play has pumped in three goals in a game.
Andrei Vasilevskiy was spectacular again in net, stopping 23-of-25 shots and allowing two or fewer goals for the fourth-consecutive game and ninth time in 14 starts this postseason.
Only penalties - the Lightning gave the Islanders five power-play opportunities - and a handful of defensive breakdowns that led to good scoring chances kept the Lightning from playing a perfect game.
Tampa Bay has now won five-straight playoff contests and eight of its last nine. The Lightning will try to keep rolling when they play Game 2 against the Islanders Wednesday (8 p.m. puck drop).

1. RUST? WHAT RUST?
The Lightning were expected to need time to find their footing in Game 1 Monday, the Bolts going a full week between closing out the Boston Bruins in the Second Round and opening the Eastern Conference Final against the Islanders.
The extra days of rest were supposed to benefit the Lightning down the road in the series, but the Islanders were thought to have the advantage early having continued their schedule of playing every other day from the Second Round.
That thinking couldn't have been any more wrong.
Throughout Game 1, Tampa Bay looked like a team that got to rest and reset for the final push toward a Stanley Cup while the Islanders seemed a step slowing coming off a Game 7 against the Flyers two nights earlier and traveling from Toronto to Edmonton the day before the ECF opened.
"I think it's good to take some time off and miss the game a little bit," Nikita Kucherov said about the benefit of the extra time off. "Obviously, we came out hard and the guys played hungry. We all were hungry today."
That hunger manifested almost immediately.
On the game's second shift, Brayden Point took possession of the puck and started up the left wing. His speed proved to be too much for Ryan Pulock as he got a step on the Islanders defenseman in the offensive zone. Point cut hard to the net and, with Thomas Greiss protecting the near post, skated out in front and wrapped a shot around the outstretched leg of the Isles netminder to give the Lightning the lead just 74 seconds into the contest.
Scoring first in the playoffs is paramount for success, but against the Islanders, it's even more important with the way New York can clamp defensively once going in front.
Point ensured that the Lightning would play with the lead for pretty much the entirety of the contest.
"That goal was amazing," said Yanni Gourde, who scored two goals for his first career multi-goal game in the playoffs. "He's such a talented player, and his line was solid tonight too. It's a great start of the game."
Point's early tally seemed to stun the Islanders as much as it lifted the Lightning.
"You can do all the prep work you want. You can watch all the video until your nauseated. But the bottom line is, until the two teams play each other, you don't get a feel for the game until you're either standing there 10 feet off the ice or on the ice going against the guys," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. "Video doesn't do Pointer's quickness justice. He put on a burst there that was obviously much needed for us. Anytime you get a lead that early in a game, it's uplifting to the team. Brayden Point has the ability to do those type of things."

2. LINE OF THE GAME
Jon Cooper has said previously this postseason that often teams' top lines cancel each other out in the playoffs and it usually comes down to which team has the best third and fourth lines.
There was no cancelling the Point line in Game 1, however.
The trio of Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov combined for 11 points, Point and Kucherov each posting five-point games. That line was unstoppable for the Lightning in Game 1, and the Islanders suddenly have a dilemma on their hands figuring out what to do to slow them down. New York entered the series boasting the forward depth that could equal the Lightning.
But Tampa Bay's top-end talent proved overwhelming in Game 1.
(Point), Kuch and Pally were unbelievable once again today," Victor Hedman said. "Brayden Point has taken it to another level, that's for sure."
After Point's opening goal that gave Tampa Bay an early lead, Point and Kucherov supplied the assists on Hedman's power-play goal that put the Lightning back in front 2-1 at 8:12 of the first period. Kucherov set up Ryan McDonagh for the defenseman's first goal of the 2020 Playoffs, which came at 10:46 of the first period and extended the Lightning lead to 3-1.
Point scored his second goal of the night on a second period power play, the center raising his stick at the side of the net to catch the eye of Hedman at the point, and Hedman shooting for his stick, Point batting it out of air and past Semyon Varlamov, who entered in the first period after the Lightning's third goal and finished the game, for the Bolts' second power-play goal of the game.
A little less than six minutes into the third, Kucherov and Point combined for their prettiest goal of the playoffs, Kucherov taking Kevin Shattenkirk's stretch pass and turning his stick over to tip a puck directly into the path of Point on his right to start a rush. Point sped down the right wing and hooked a pass around Devon Toews to the front of the net for the charging Kucherov to push home for his first goal of the game.
"That was a special play," Point said of Kucherov's brilliance to get him the puck. "I don't think many guys would think of that, just a great play. He's a guy that's so good with the puck. He knows what he's doing with it. That was something I don't think I've ever seen before, but it was super nice for sure."
Less than four minutes later, the Point line all got in on the act on the same goal, the trio toying with the Islanders with their passing in the offensive zone until Palat could finish the sequence off at the net.
Kucherov earned his fourth assist of the game on the play to establish a new Lightning record for most assists in a single playoff contest.
"We missed so much time not playing hockey, we come in here and want to do our best," Kucherov said. "We obviously missed hockey. We all play with confidence right now. We want to play hockey, and we came here to play. We want to do our best and help the team."
The Islanders might have the forward depth to match the Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final, but, for one game anyway, the Bolts showed their top-end talent is too much for the Isles to control.

3. IT'S JUST ONE GAME
Despite opening the Eastern Conference Final with a statement victory, the Lightning can't get too overconfident because of how Game 1 played out.
Sure, scoring eight goals is a tremendous achievement. Even more so to do it against the Islanders, one of the stingiest teams defensively in the NHL over the last few seasons.
But when the two teams hit the ice for Game 2 on Wednesday, the score from Monday's opener will mean nothing.
The Lightning own a 1-0 lead in the series, and, really, that's the only score that matters at this point.
"In the playoffs (whether) it's 8-2 or 1-0, it's one game," Hedman said. "I still think there's parts of our game we can be better at. They played seven games and traveled yesterday, so it's one game but it's a big game for us."
It's important for the Lightning to remember there were chances where the game could have turned much more competitive than the final score. The Islanders had five power-play opportunities and looked dangerous on the majority of them. The Isles scored on their first power play to tie the game in the opening period, and the outcome might have been different if they managed to squeeze one or two more on the power play past Vasilevskiy.
Tampa Bay also made some mistakes defensively it hasn't made in a few games which the Islanders were unable to capitalize on. Brock Nelson had a shorthanded breakaway after blocking Shattenkirk's attempt to dump the puck in deep on the power play and squirting free the other way. His shot hit the outside of the net, however, and moments later, Hedman scored his power-play goal to put the Lightning back in front.
The Isles had other good scoring chances too but either missed the net or were thwarted by the in-control Vasilevskiy.
"We gave up some chances, and our goaltender made some saves, pucks happened to go in for us that may not go in otherwise," Cooper said. "We were doing some good things, but we gave up some chances where we weren't happy in the locker room the way things were going. So, we look at this game solely as a Game 1 win, whether you win the game in overtime or you win the way we did, it's just one game. Now we're on even terms. There's no travel. Everybody gets the same rest. They get to recover. We get to recover a little bit and it becomes a series."
Just like they did after blowing out the Bruins 7-1 in Game 3 of a Second Round series, the Lightning need to be prepared to receive the Islanders best game the next time out.
"Let's be honest, we got a lot of bounces tonight," Point said. "Things went well for us. We can't hang our hat on that one. We've got to come back ready for Game 2 because we know they're a fantastic team. They play hard. They play physical. They take away time and space, so we have to be ready for Game 2."