UNIONDALE, N.Y. — The Lightning went into the visitors locker room of Nassau Coliseum for the second intermission Saturday night facing their largest deficit of these playoffs.
They had dug themselves a three-goal hole in an ugly second period and needed to find some quick fixes to get back into Game 4 of the Stanley Cup semifinals.
The Lightning needed a surge to avoid sending the series back to Tampa tied at two games apiece. They had an answer, quieting the Coliseum crowd with two quick third-period goals, but couldn’t get the equalizer, falling, 3-2. Game 5 is Monday night at Amalie Arena.
The Lightning had their chances late. Inside the final six minutes, Ross Colton’s shot down low was just wide and Nikita Kucherov unloaded a snap shot destined for the back of the net that Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov gloved.
The postseason’s leading goal scorer, Brayden Point, rifled a shot from above the right circle past Varlamov to put the Lightning on the scoreboard 3:45 into the third. And fourth-line center Tyler Johnson did some remarkable work to pull Tampa Bay within one goal.
Johnson followed up his own shot from the right side and took it around the net, skated across the outside of the the left circle, turned back quickly toward the dot and flicked a wrister top shelf past Varlamov.
The Lightning previously took control of the semifinals with their stellar defense, but gave away the momentum amid a bevy of turnovers and sloppy play in their own zone.
The Islanders struck first on Josh Bailey’s goal 5:30 into the second period, the result of a Colton turnover. Colton couldn’t push the puck forward and after it was intercepted by Ryan Pulock. A drop pass from Anthony Beauvillier landed the puck on Brock Nelson’s stick coming into the Lightning zone with space in front of him.
Nelson brought two Lightning defenders his way then circled back and fed after drawing a trailing Bailey, who beat Andrei Vasilevskiy gloveside from the right circle.
Point lost his stick battling Mathew Barzal for the puck in the near corner. Point emerged from the other side of the net without a stick and lost Barzal, so he had no chance of stopping him when a shot from the point kicked out to Barzal along the near post.
Barzal easily filled an open net to put the Islanders up 2-0 with 6:14 left in the second. The Islanders then got a back-breaking goal from their fourth line with 2:03 left in the period on Matt Martin’s goal.
The Lightning had to feel good about going into the first intermission scoreless. Despite holding an 11-4 shot-on-goal advantage, the Islanders twice hit the post and also had a short-handed breakaway.
