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NYHN Daily: Game 7 Time for Islanders, How to Beat Vasilevskiy & More

Published

3 years ago

June 25, 2021

The New York Islanders look to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1984 as they face the Tampa Bay Lightning in a Game 7. The Islanders know how to beat Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and will need to do just that to advance. These stories and more in today’s daily links!

There is a reason why Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy is a Vezina Trophy finalist this season and previously won it back in 2019. He is a premier goaltender in the National Hockey League, and the playoffs seem to bring out the best in him. As hard as he is to beat on a nightly basis, the New York Islanders have shown this series that he can be beaten. Here is the ways the Islanders have beaten him this series. (NYI Hockey Now)

Rattle the Islanders? Get them ‘lost in the moment’ and pounce? Psshhh…..think again. The Tampa Bay Lightning have not lost back-to-back playoff games in the last two seasons, going 12-0 over that stretch. The New York Islanders don’t care. (NYI Hockey Now)

Nassau Coliseum workers cleaned up the beer cans and other debris littering the ice with remarkable efficiency after the Islanders’ 3-2 overtime victory over the Lightning late Wednesday night. That was good work, and it also served as an unintended message for everyone following the teams’ Stanley Cup semifinal: Game 6 was heck of a party, but last call for this round awaits on Friday night in Tampa. (Newsday)

Game 7. Do you even really need to say anything else? “No, I don’t think so,’’ Islanders coach Barry Trotz said Thursday, before he and his team boarded a flight to Tampa for Friday’s deciding game between the Isles and Tampa Bay Lightning that will determine the winner of the teams’ semifinal series and send the winner to the Stanley Cup Final. (Newsday)

The agent for Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid blasted the NHL referee who declined to call a penalty on Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield for his cross-check on Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov Wednesday that may have knocked the NHL’s leading playoff scorer out of Game 6, and muddied his status for Friday’s Game 7. Agent Jeff Jackson retweeted a tweet from TSN in which analyst Craig Button says Mayfield was guilty of cross-checking Kucherov and said it was “not acceptable’’ that referee Chris Lee chose not to call a penalty on the play. (Newsday)

The New York Islanders are moving on from Nassau Coliseum after this season, and into UBS Arena, which opens its doors in the fall. But the dream of wrapping up five decades of Islanders hockey at the Coliseum with a championship was kept alive after they rallied for a 3-2 overtime win here against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals on Wednesday. The Islanders forced Game 7 at Tampa Bay on Friday. With another victory, they would advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1984 to face the Montreal Canadiens, who defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in six games in their semifinals series. (NHL)

The New York Islanders reveled in the moment following their 3-2 overtime win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Semifinals on Wednesday but already were looking ahead to the next moment by Thursday morning. The Islanders need another victory to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1984 and end the Lightning’s bid to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. As exciting as it was to soak in the electric atmosphere at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, with forward Anthony Beauvillier’s goal 1:08 into overtime capping a comeback after falling behind 2-0 in Game 6, New York moved on quickly. (NHL)

This is the second in an intermittent offseason series of articles looking at impending Boston Bruins free agents and whether they will be “staying or going” when it comes time for the B’s to make a decision. The Case: Boston Bruins defenseman Steve Kampfer has been an excellent pro for the B’s over the last few years playing a largely thankless reserve role. (Boston Hockey Now)

There is an increasing number of bigger, physical players who are or who could hit the NHL trade market, and those players could help the Pittsburgh Penguins. But the Penguins would have to sacrifice one or more talented pieces in a trade or to clear enough salary cap space to make it happen. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

Howie Glover’s time with the Detroit Red Wings wasn’t long, but he achieved quite a bit nonetheless. Glover died earlier this month at the age of 86. Detroit made the acquisition of Glover in a June 5, 1960 trade which saw defenseman Jim Morrison going to Chicago. (Detroit Hockey Now)

Hendrix Lapierre’s childhood dreams became a reality in 2020 when the Washington Capitals took him in the first round. The highly-touted prospect, who grew up idolizing Alex Ovechkin, pulled on his first NHL jersey. This past season, he moved one step closer to that NHL dream and is preparing to make even more progress as he heads for a change in scenery. (Washington Hockey Now)

Before the start of this season, the Vegas Golden Knights named Mark Stone the first captain in team history. A leader on and off the ice, the VGK could not have made a better choice. Stone can be an emotional firestarter, celebrating a big goal with exuberance. Or he can be a calming influence, steadying his team when the going gets tough. And he definitely wears that C as if it were Superman’s S stamped on his chest. He takes it personally. (Vegas Hockey Now)

What did Erik Karlsson do well for the San Jose Sharks this past season. Some numbers indicate a decline while other the complete opposite. Let’s take a look. (San Jose Hockey Now)

Artturi Lehkonen scored at 1:39 of overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a 3-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals at Bell Centre on Thursday. (NHL)

Dave Hakstol was hired as coach of the expansion Seattle Kraken on Thursday and said it will be a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to help build the team from scratch. (NHL)

Carey Price put his hands on his head and savored the moment. The Montreal Canadiens goalie rarely shows emotion, but in this instance, he couldn’t help himself. (NHL)

The Montreal Canadiens stuck with recent tradition and didn’t touch the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl on Thursday. (NHL)

Mark Messier reached a multiyear agreement Thursday to join ESPN as an NHL studio analyst beginning next season. (NHL)

Montreal Canadiens fans will have their eyes fixed on tonight’s Tampa Bay Lightning-New York Islanders game. The Habs’ opponent in the Stanley Cup final will be the winner of Game 7 between the Lightning and visiting Islanders. (TSN)