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NHL
Stanley Cup Playoffs

Lightning rally late to steal Game 3 from Islanders in OT

Mike Coppinger
USA TODAY Sports
Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) reacts after scoring game-tying goal against the Islanders late in third period in game three of the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Barclays Center.

NEW YORK – One by one, objects began falling from the sky. 

Paper cups full of liquid. Bottles. Trash. 

“Please refrain from throwing objects on the ice or you’ll be ejected from the arena,” the PA man bellowed.

But that didn’t stop irate New York Islanders fans from hurling more items onto the Barclays Center rink below. 

The home team squandered a one-goal lead with 39 seconds left in regulation and then was defeated 5-4 in overtime by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. The Brooklyn faithful weren’t upset with the Isles’ play, though.

It’s what led to the game-winning goal that caught their ire. 

Tampa’s Brian Boyle crunched Thomas Hickey with what appeared to be an accidental elbow to the head, and as the defenseman lay crumpled on the ice, the Lightning suddenly had strength in numbers.

Boyle skated to the doorstep, and when Victor Hedman’s slapper caromed off the boards, the forward was there to slam the rebound home and propel Tampa to a 2-1 series lead.

“At the end of the day, it’s a head shot; it’s clearly a head shot and it determined the outcome of the game,” Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. “We should have been on the power play.”

Capuano is sure the NHL will take a look at the hit and referenced the recent suspensions of the Washington Capitals' Brooks Orpik and Pittsburgh Penguins' Kris Letang. Boyle, though, said he would be surprised to hear from the league regarding a discipline hearing.

“I’ve never had anything like that in my career,” he said. “At this point, I don’t really have any control.”

Thomas Hickey lays out Jonathan Drouin with brutal hit

Tampa is already down Steven Stamkos, along with key defensemen Anton Stralman and Matt Carle. While Stamkos isn’t close to a return from surgery to treat a type of vascular thoracic outlet syndrome, help could be on the way. 
 

Stralman and Carle both skated earlier Tuesday. Coach Jon Cooper termed Stralman as doubtful for Game 4 on Friday, but said Carle is somewhere between questionable and probable. 
 
A Tampa defense that struggled mightily, especially in the first period, could really use them.

The Isles dominated the opening frame and seemed to win every corner battle. The Lightning were outshot 17-9 after 20 minutes, but tied the game at one with 13 seconds left on a Ryan Callahan deflection. Cooper credited Vezina finalist Ben Bishop (35 saves) with keeping the team in the game.

Both squads traded goals over the next two periods, and neither team ever increased the lead to more than one.

The contest appeared to be well in hand when Bishop was pulled from the net, but the Isles iced it and surging forward Jonathan Drouin later found Nikita Kucherov in the slot for the game-tying goal.

Not only did the Isles let up two back-breaking scores with less than 40 seconds remaining in the first and third periods, they also squandered a terrific game from Josh Bailey, who scored his first two goals of the postseason.

“We probably should have won this game tonight and we let it slip away from us and that side of it’s frustrating,” Bailey said. “Obviously, going forward, we have to try to lock games out and get the job done.”

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