Stanley Cup semifinal: Lightning-Islanders Game 3 live updates

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Brayden Point and Yanni Gourde scored goals as the Lightning beat the Islanders 2-1 in Game 3 of their Stanley Cup semifinal series Thursday at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y.

After dropping the opening game of the series, Tampa Bay won the past two to take a two-games-to-one lead.

Gourde scored off a cross-crease pass from Blake Coleman to open the scoring in the first period.

New York’s Cal Clutterbuck tied the score during a net-front scramble late in the second. But Point scored while being pushed to the ice by Casey Cizikas less than three minutes later to restore Tampa Bay’s lead.

Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 27 of 28 shots to pick up his 10th victory of the postseason.

Here’s how it happened:

Third period

Zajac shot from the side of the net goes off Vasilevskiy’s glove, and then Savard knocks the puck out of harm’s way

Barzal shot from the left circle goes wide

Leddy shot blocked by Savard

Mayfield shot doesn’t get through to the net

Pageau shot gloved by Vasilevskiy

Stamkos shot of the rush hits Varlamov in the mask

Cernak sore after a big block

Varlamov stops Rutta from the slot

Rutta shaken up after hit from Martin

Varlamov gloves a McDonagh shot from the left circle after a give-and-go with Gourde

Isles pull Varlamov for an extra attacker

Barzal loses the puck to McDonagh

Hedman clears the puck out of the zone

Goodrow collects a loose puck in the neutral zone

Killorn gets to a loose puck and clears the zone

Another Lightning clear

McDonagh picks off a pass at center ice

(Lightning win 2-1)

Second period

Matt Martin shot off the rush gloved by Vasilevskiy.

Jan Rutta shot blocked by Pageau

Ondrej Palat blocks Andy Greene shot

Tyler Johnson shot wide of the net

Ross Colton shot from the left circle goes off Varlamov’s mask

Vasilevskiy loses the puck behind the net, but Gourde is able to clear the puck out of trouble

Cirelli sets up Killorn in front of the net, but the shot won’t go

Komarov shot from the left circle misses the net

Clutterbuck checks Point

Palmieri shot from below the left circle stopped by Vasilevskiy

Pelech shot from the left point misses the net

Pulock blocks Cirelli shot from in front

Vasilevskiy loses track of the puck after Pageau shot from the left side off the rush goes through him, but the puck goes wide of the net

Barzal just misses from in front, hitting the crossbar

Pelech slap shot saved by Vasilevskiy

Sergachev penalized for roughing Palmieri, and the Islanders get the first power play of the game

McDonagh knocks puck ahead to Coleman, who clears it out of the zone

Cernak, Cirelli, Killorn combine to get the puck back out

Eberle shot from right circle saved by Vasilevskiy

Lightning clear the puck, and that will kill the penalty. Islanders got one shot with the man-advantage

ISLANDERS GOAL: Pulock shoots the puck in and it takes a crazy carom off the boards, hitting the back of the net. Cizikas puts the puck in front, and Matt Martin shots from down low. During a mad scramble in front, Cernak tries to push the puck back to Vasilevskiy, but Clutterbuck puts the puck in the net. Lightning 1, Islanders 1.

Pelech penalized for interfering with Kucherov

Hedman shot from the point saved by Varlamov

Lightning called for a hand pass, which will bring faceoff out of the offensive zone

Leddy blocks Kucherov shot

LIGHTNING GOAL! Four seconds after the power play expired, Brayden Point scores while being pushed to the ice by Cizikas. Lightning 2, Islanders 1.

(Lightning lead 2-1 after two periods)

First period

Jan Rutta shot from the right point steered aside by Semyon Varlamov

Scott Mayfield shot from the right point hits teammate Josh Bailey

Mayfield shot from the point deflected out of play

Kyle Palmieri bad-angle shot goes off Andrei Vasilevskiy’s mask

Palmieri knocks Mikhail Sergachev into the boards on the forecheck

Mayfield shot from the right point gloved by Vasilevskiy

Cal Clutterbuck centering pass from below the left circle caught by Vasilevskiy

Adam Pelech shot misses the net

Nikita Kucherov loses puck to Mathew Barzal in the slot but blocks Barzal’s shot

Erik Cernak shot from between the circles blocked by Varlamov

Barzal shot from left circle high and wide

Barzal hits the side of the net

Steven Stamkos shot from the left side does not get through to the net

Brayden Point from the right circle blocked

Vasilevskiy stops Palmieri shot from in front with left arm after Pageau feed from below the goal line

Mayfield shot from the right point wide of the net

Stamkos fans on the shot after getting the puck in the slot

Ross Colton shot from the left circle blocked by Barzal

Andy Greene wrist shot from the point wide left

Colton shot misses wide

LIGHTNING GOAL! Yanni Gourde scores off a cross-crease pass from Blake Coleman, who retrieved his own rebound. Lightning 1, Islanders 0.

Casey Cizikas shot misses the net

Brayden Point shot from the slot gloved by Varlamov

Jan Rutta hit hard by Adam Pelech

Shot-pass from Victor Hedman from the left circle to Kucherov driving the net deflected up over the net

Cizikas deflects Ryan Pulock shot from the right point in on Vasilevskiy

Anthony Beauvillier shot from the left side blocked by Stamkos

Pulock breaks up Ondrej Palat pass for Brayden Point in the slot off the rush

Pelech puts a body check on Kucherov

(Lightning leads 1-0 after one period)

Your pregame scouting report

This feels like a big game.

Like, series-altering big. Which, of course, would mean season-altering.

The Lightning showed Tuesday they can come back from a series deficit, beating the Islanders 4-2 to even their Stanley Cup semifinal series at one game apiece.

But lose Game 3 tonight at Nassau Coliseum and they will be down in a series after three games for the first time since being swept by Columbus in the opening round in 2018-19.

Tampa Bay dropped the opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinal against Boston and Cup final against Dallas last season before storming back to win the next four over the Bruins and four of the next five against the Stars.

But the last time they came back to win a series after losing two of the first three games was the opening round in 2014-15, when they came from behind to beat the Red Wings in seven games.

Since then, they’ve dropped every series in which they trailed after three games: to the Penguins (2015-16 conference final), Capitals (2017-18 conference final) and Blue Jackets (2018-19 conference quarterfinal).

So, let’s just say a win tonight could be important. Particularly against an Islanders team whose tight-checking style, strong goaltending and forward depth might present the biggest challenge remaining in Tampa Bay’s path.

Not that the Lightning can’t come back from such a deficit, of course. With their talent, experience and resilience, they’re capable of things most teams aren’t.

But it will be unfamiliar territory, for sure.

Follow along, starting at 8 p.m., as the Lightning aim to take their first lead of the series that could put them in the Cup final for the second straight year.

Setting the scene

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