Far from it according to Bolts head coach Jon Cooper. The Lightning didn't have the puck much at all over the first 15 minutes of the final period and were buried inside their own zone as a result. They were able to absorb the Islanders pressure and limit the major scoring chances to a scant few.
Still, there were times it felt the Lightning were playing with a bend-but-don't-break approach and were close to breaking.
"I like that we won the game," Cooper said when asked following Saturday's morning skate if he liked his team's 5-on-5 play over the final 40 minutes of Game 3. "I thought there were periods in that game that we didn't do the things we needed for us to have some more success. I really liked our first period and then we gave the Islanders a little bit of momentum in the second period. We gobbled that back up by the late goal by Pointer, and then the third, that first probably 12 minutes, we were flip happy and content on just getting pucks out instead of doing what we did that last four of five minutes is attack the game and put them on their heels.
The Lightning were satisfied to just relieve pressure at the start of the third period rather than looking to build the attack, and that invited the Islanders to continue to keep their foot on the gas in search of the tying goal. After the final media timeout, however, at a time when the Islanders were trying everything to unlock the stranglehold the Lightning had on them in the offensive zone, the ice tilted in Tampa Bay's favor.
Suddenly it was the Lightning that were maintaining possession of the puck and creating good scoring chances and the Islanders were the team chasing the Bolts around.
Cooper would like to see more of that final five minutes from his team in the future when it attempts to close out a victory.
"You can get away with (relieving pressure instead of maintaining possession) at times when you have the lead, but we need to be better than that if we want to have a chance tonight because I know the Islanders are going to be better," Cooper said.
The Lightning have won four-straight road games and are 6-1 in road games this postseason coming into Game 4 tonight at the Coliseum. The Bolts have allowed just three goals combined over those four road wins.
They can take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series with another road performance like the ones they've put up of late.
"I don't know if there's one big reason, but I think we do play a simpler game on the road," Barclay Goodrow said when asked why the Bolts have been so effective playing away from AMALIE Arena. "I think we don't try to get super cute with our plays. We play in straight lines, and I think that's what we need in playoffs, whether it's at home or the road. I think when we're playing in that straight-line game, we're pretty effective."
Goodrow's line with him, Yanni Gourde and Blake Coleman was a difference-maker in Game 3. They started the contest like they've done each time in the series, matching up against the Islanders vaunted fourth line, and set the tone by playing physically, winning puck battles and working hard to create scoring opportunities.
Their work was rewarded midway through the opening period with Coleman delivered a beauty of a backhanded pass through the crease onto the opposite post for Gourde to slam into the back of the net.
That goal allowed the Lightning to play with the lead for the majority of the game. The Bolts are 10-1 this postseason when scoring first, 0-3 when surrendering the opening goal.
"I think the biggest thing for us is just keeping things simple," Goodrow said. "We do well when we're working straight lines and just trying to outwork the opponent as much as possible. I think if we can start the game like that and keep that up throughout the whole game, that's a good game for us."
Pregame Sound
