3 Keys: Lightning vs. Islanders, Game 6 of Eastern Conference Final

No. 2 Lightning vs. No. 6 Islanders
8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
Tampa Bay leads best-of-7 series, 3-2

Brayden Point will be a game-time decision for the Tampa Bay Lightning when they play the New York Islanders in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Thursday.
The Lightning center has been unfit to play twice against the Islanders, including a 2-1 double overtime loss in Game 5 in Edmonton, the hub city for the conference finals and Stanley Cup Final, on Tuesday. Tampa Bay is 3-0 in the series with Point and 0-2 without him.
Point is tied with Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon for the NHL scoring lead this postseason with 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 16 games.
"Obviously Brayden Point's a big part of our team," Tampa Bay forward Tyler Johnson said. "He's an unreal player, but I don't think we change our structure, I don't think we change our game plan. We stick to what's been working and we've been generating a lot of chances and getting the pucks on net. Try to use our [defensemen], get them involved, basically playing five guys on offense. Regardless of who's in the lineup, we always try to play the same way. That's just what we need to focus on."
The winner of this series will face the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Final.
Here are 3 keys for Game 6:

1. Score first

The end result is what matters most, but Lightning coach Jon Cooper said it would be beneficial if Tampa Bay scores the first goal to negate any momentum New York may have generated with its Game 5 win.
"That always helps," Cooper said. "We haven't had the first goal here in a little bit in this series (the Lightning haven't opened the scoring since an 8-2 win in Game 1). We talk about chasing the game; you make another team chase the game when they're behind. It's much more comforting when you're playing with the lead. Is it imperative? No, but it's sure nice to have it."

2. Same approach

The Islanders are facing elimination whether Point plays or not; he has seven points (three goals, four assists) in the three games he has played, including five points (two goals, three assists) in Game 1.
"We're in a situation where we have to win to stay here," New York defenseman Andy Greene said. "It's exciting for us. It's a great opportunity, it's a great challenge. Obviously, [Point] is a top player in this league. He brings a lot of different qualities for their team, a little bit of their engine. For us, when he's out there you've got to make sure you know where he is and what he can do."

3. No consecutive losses

The Lightning are 4-0 in games after a loss this postseason; if that trend continues Thursday, they will land a berth in the Cup Final.
"I think probably the biggest thing is trying to stay even keel, not get too high, not get too low," Johnson said. "I think our team has done a pretty good job of that. When things aren't going our way we respond well, and when things are going our way we keep on pushing."

Lightning projected lineup

Ondrej Palat -- Anthony Cirelli -- Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn -- Yanni Gourde -- Blake Coleman
Barclay Goodrow -- Cedric Paquette -- Tyler Johnson
Pat Maroon -- Carter Verhaeghe
Victor Hedman -- Kevin Shattenkirk
Ryan McDonagh -- Zach Bogosian
Mikhail Sergachev -- Erik Cernak
Luke Schenn
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Curtis McElhinney
Scratched:Mathieu Joseph, Mitchell Stephens, Alexander Volkov, Braydon Coburn, Scott Wedgewood
Unfit to play: Brayden Point, Jan Rutta, Steven Stamkos

Islanders projected lineup

Anders Lee -- Mathew Barzal - Cal Clutterbuck
Anthony Beauvillier -- Brock Nelson -- Josh Bailey
Matt Martin -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Jordan Eberle
Leo Komarov -- Derick Brassard
Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock
Devon Toews -- Scott Mayfield
Nick Leddy -- Andy Greene
Johnny Boychuk
Semyon Varlamov
Thomas Greiss
Scratched:Michael Dal Colle, Ross Johnston, Otto Koivula, Andrew Ladd, Sebastian Aho, Noah Dobson, Thomas Hickey, Christopher Gibson
Unfit to play:Casey Cizikas, Tom Kuhnhackl

Status report

Islanders coach Barry Trotz said there are "a couple of question marks" regarding the lineup that won't be decided until warmups.