Islanders rally to defeat Lightning in OT in Game 6, even series

UNIONDALE, N.Y.-- Anthony Beauvillier scored at 1:08 of overtime, and the New York Islanders evened the Stanley Cup Semifinals with a 3-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 at Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday.

Beauvillier won it with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle after a turnover by Blake Coleman. It was Beauvillier's first goal in 11 games, fifth of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs and first in overtime in the NHL postseason.
"I honestly kind of blacked out a little bit," Beauvillier said. "They turned the puck over, I think, and then I saw it go in and kind of blacked out. I was just so happy, I was screaming, and everyone kind of jumped on me. Obviously, an amazing feeling and I couldn't be more happy."
Scott Mayfield tied the game at 11:16 of the third period for the Islanders. Semyon Varlamov made 22 saves.
"I love this group, the character of this group, and I would say this building and what it's meant to a number of players, but probably more than anything, our fans," New York coach Barry Trotz said.

Brayden Point extended his goal streak to nine games, and Anthony Cirelli had a goal and an assist for the Lightning, who held a 2-0 lead in the second period despite losing Nikita Kucherov to an undisclosed injury early in the first. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves.
Game 7 is at Tampa Bay on Friday.
"Listen, we battled hard," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. "We were short from the beginning. We played a [heck] of a game to get up 2-0. We knew they were going to push. It's two good teams going at it at the best time of the year. For the most part, I thought we played pretty solid.
"It's over with. We didn't get the job done tonight, but we get to go back in front of our fans and get the job done there. It was an entertaining game and we've got to go home and get the job done."
Mayfield tied it 2-2 when he took a pass from Mathew Barzal and roofed a shot over Vasilevskiy short side from the right circle.
Tampa Bay went on the power play with 5:57 left after Matt Martin's stick caught Patrick Maroon in the face, but Varlamov preserved the tie with a glove save on Ondrej Palat's shot from the right circle at 15:52.
"It was 2-1 going into third period, so we knew we had a chance to win this game or tie the game in the third period," Varlamov said. "We came out really hard and we had a really strong third period, a strong forecheck and then that's why I think we scored the goal. We created a lot of scoring chances in the third, and it paid off in the end."

Point scored for the ninth straight game when he backhanded a rebound near the left goal post at 16:02 of the first period to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead. He is one shy of tying the NHL playoff record set by Reggie Leach, who scored in 10 consecutive games for the Philadelphia Flyers in 1976.
"We've got a lot of guys that have played a lot of playoff games and have come back from losses or different situations," Point said. "We've got a veteran leadership group in there that kind of keeps our head level. I don't know if a lot of guys have played a lot of Game 7s, but we're just going to try to take it as one game. It's do or die for both teams and it's going to be an intense one."
New York was held to one shot on goal during a 5-on-3 power play for 1:02 in the second period following penalties against Victor Hedman and Mikhail Sergachev.
Cirelli then made it 2-0 at 12:36 of the second when he beat Varlamov five-hole from the left circle after a stretch pass from Palat. It was the Lightning's 12th straight goal in the series.
But Jordan Eberle ended the Islanders' drought at 116:23 when he scored on a backhand from the slot at 14:22 of the second period to make it 2-1. It was his first goal in seven games.
"Even though we were down 2-0, for the most part we liked our game, even in the first and the second," Eberle said. "But we just couldn't find it and finally found one and then took it into the third, and then Scotty with the great shot."

Varlamov kept the Islanders within one with a glove save on Yanni Gourde's shot from the slot at 18:11 of the second.
Kucherov left 2:22 into the game, 14 seconds after he appeared to jam his right arm or shoulder while hitting Barzal. He struggled to finish the shift and went to the locker room at the stoppage in play. Kucherov was cross-checked from behind by Mayfield earlier in the shift. There was no update after the game.
Kucherov leads the NHL with 27 points (five goals, 22 assists) in 17 games in the playoffs after he missed the entire 56-game regular season while recovering from hip surgery he had Dec. 29.
"We played 56 games without him," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "Usually, we have 12 forwards when we play without him, so that probably made it tougher on us when we had 11. But we've gone down this path for four months. It's nothing new for us."
NOTES: Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak missed a second straight game because of an upper-body injury. … The Islanders did not lead at the end of the first period for the 18th consecutive game.