The Tampa Bay Lightning came ready to play. The New York Islanders let them. It was a blow out from the start as the Bolts Captain Steven Stamkos scored his first goal of the series just :45 seconds into the game. Tampa Bay stormed out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and never looked back. The Islanders had their chances to make it 3-1 but Andrei Vasileskiy was his amazing self and stifled any of New York’s attempts.
Mathew Barzal put the Islanders on the board with just over 7 minutes remaining in the 2nd period. New York’s offense looked sharp and matched the Lightning shot for shot. But it was Varlomov’s acrobatic act, save after save that was the difference in today’s game.
It's no secret that the last 48 hours have been a rollercoaster for the New York Rangers. They lost last night, but fans should be proud of their effort.
My birthday is this coming Tuesday, but that is second on the list of days that I'm looking forward to the most in the month of August. NHL resumes this weekend