3 Keys: Islanders at Lightning, Game 2 of Semifinals

Islanders at Lightning
8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
New York leads best-of-7 series, 1-0

The New York Islanders will look to extend their lead in the Stanley Cup Semifinals when they play the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 at Amalie Arena in Tampa on Tuesday.
New York has won four in a row in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since its loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of the second round. The Islanders defeated the Lightning 2-1 in Game 1 at Tampa Bay on Sunday.
"You're going to get their best game tonight," New York coach Barry Trotz said. "I think from our standpoint, I think we've got some growth as well. We came off our last series, a real physical, heavy series, it took a good chunk of us. I think just getting last game, I think as this series goes on, the emotional level will go up for both teams and it will become a harder series.
"We're not really worried about the hard; I think our guys embrace the battle, the hardness of the game and what it'll take. But you'll see their best game, there's no question. You're going to see some more desperation in their game, they'll have maybe a different plan. I think we had something to do with it, but I'm sure they have another level, or feel they do, for sure."
Teams that take a 2-0 lead are 76-7 (.915) winning a best-of-7 NHL semifinal series. The Lightning are 3-3 at home this postseason.
"When I want a team leaving a game, I'd like for them to have ice bags all over their body and not feeling too great afterwards," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "I think at times the Islanders probably didn't have to shower after [Game 1]. A little uncharacteristic for us."
Here are 3 keys for Game 2:

#

1. Ability to respond

One of the many reasons the Lightning are in the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season is their ability to overcome even the slightest bit of adversity. Tampa Bay has not lost consecutive games in the postseason since being swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round in 2019.
"It's easy to panic and feel like we really need to win the next game," Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said. "We want to win the next game obviously, but you just have to go out and play your game. You can't be scared going out. You have to embrace that challenge. You're down 1-0, and now when we're playing at home you obviously want to get that game. It's tough to go down 2-0 going on the road. But at the end of the day we've got to trust the way we play hockey, the way we forecheck, the way we can play in the [offensive] zone and the way we defend.
"We have to trust ourselves and trust the game plan. If we're more careful with the puck I like our chances and I like the way we can attack."

#

2. Generate quality opportunities on the power play

The Islanders were 0-for-3 with the man-advantage in Game 1. They not only failed to score, they also were unable to generate many quality chances and goalie Semyon Varlamov was forced to make four saves while the Lightning were shorthanded.
"I think on the power play we had a couple of looks," New York forward Kyle Palmieri said. "Obviously they have a pretty good penalty kill and a group that's been together for a little bit. We had a couple of opportunities to get into the zone that things didn't go our way, but we definitely took the time since last game to look at some things and get ready for tonight."

#

3. Make Islanders more desperate

The Lightning have the top power play during the playoffs (42.1 percent), and scored on the man-advantage in the final minute of Game 1. But Tampa Bay had two power plays Sunday, and Cooper said there's one way to force New York to take more trips to the penalty box.
"They take penalties because they're desperate," Cooper said. "We didn't make them desperate at all. … If you want teams to take penalties, make them feel desperation. I just don't think we did that enough in [Game 1], outside of maybe the first 6-8 minutes. If you want that, that's what has to be done."

#

Islanders projected lineup

Leo Komarov -- Mathew Barzal -- Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier -- Brock Nelson -- Josh Bailey
Kyle Palmieri -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Travis Zajac
Matt Martin -- Casey Cizikas -- Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock
Nick Leddy -- Scott Mayfield
Andy Greene -- Noah Dobson
Semyon Varlamov
Ilya Sorokin
Scratched:Cole Bardreau, Kieffer Bellows, Austin Czarnik, Anatoli Golyshev, Simon Holmstrom, Ross Johnston, Otto Koivula, Dmytro Timashov, Oliver Wahlstrom, Sebastian Aho, Samuel Bolduc, Braydon Coburn, Thomas Hickey, Grant Hutton, Bode Wilde, Kenneth Appleby, Cory Schneider
Injured:Michael Dal Colle (undisclosed)

Lightning projected lineup

Ondrej Palat -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn -- Anthony Cirelli -- Steven Stamkos
Barclay Goodrow -- Yanni Gourde -- Blake Coleman
Ross Colton -- Tyler Johnson -- Pat Maroon
Victor Hedman -- Jan Rutta
Ryan McDonagh -- Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev -- David Savard
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Curtis McElhinney
Scratched:Alex Barré-Boulet, Mathieu Joseph, Boris Katchouk, Taylor Raddysh, Gemel Smith, Mitchell Stephens, Daniel Walcott, Fredrik Claesson, Cal Foote, Luke Schenn, Ben Thomas, Christopher Gibson, Spencer Martin
Injured:None

#

Status report

The Lightning are expected to have the same lineup as Game 1. … Trotz said Wahlstrom is healthy enough to play, but the forward is not expected to be in the lineup. He sustained a lower-body injury in Game 5 of the first round against the Pittsburgh Penguins. … Dal Colle remains in New York, but Trotz said the forward is getting closer to being healthy and could skate with the Islanders when they return from Tampa.