The moment was so big, the degree of difficulty so high, that had Ryan McDonagh’s desperate buzzer-beating attempt found the back of the net it would immediately have taken up residence among the best goals ever scored in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
We’re talking about a “can you believe what just happened?” sequence.
McDonagh is a rock-steady defenceman for the Tampa Bay Lightning but he’s about the last guy you’d expect to see eluding Brock Nelson’s diving stick check with a spin-o-rama in the slot while deftly firing a hard backhand shot between Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s stick and goaltender Semyon Varlamov’s left skate with time expiring.
“I just tried to get something on net,” McDonagh said after the final buzzer sounded on Saturday’s Game 4 against the New York Islanders.
The puck would have hit the back of the net with about two seconds to spare were it not for Ryan Pulock’s glove. The Islanders defenceman backstopped Varlamov to secure a heart-stopping victory that sent this Stanley Cup semifinal back to Tampa tied 2-2.
The margins, man.
They were tiny on that play and they’ve been even tinier throughout this rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Final. In fact, the Lightning and Islanders have basically played each other to a coin flip through 193 minutes of 5-on-5 action in the series — with the goals 7-7 and shots on goal 94-94.
Tampa has had slightly more shot attempts (176-164) while the Islanders have enjoyed better quality looks (8.95-6.99 expected goals), according to naturalstattrick.com, but even that gap narrows when you factor in special teams play.
The tight nature of the series raises the stakes on Game 5 at Amalie Arena on Monday night because the winner will be guaranteed two cracks at booking a trip to the Stanley Cup Final. That leaves a small safety net for something to go against you — be it a bounce, referee’s call or a goaltender’s performance.
“It’s a crucial game, there’s no denying that,” said Lightning captain Steven Stamkos.
As battle-tested as his team is, they’re also shouldering more of the pressure in this situation. Not only is Tampa favoured in the series, but it’s also had some inconsistent stretches like the second period of Game 4, when the Islanders scored three times.
“We were tight or comfortable, I don’t know what it was,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. “I know we can take another step in our game. At this point the players know each other, we’ve played each other enough, we’ve played enough hockey, but our execution can be better and I know we can take another step as a team.”
That’s become a hallmark of theirs while winning six straight playoff series over the last two years. They haven’t lost consecutive games during that stretch — immediately following 10 losses with a win.
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Entering Game 5, the Lightning were bracing for another tightly contested 60 minutes. These haven’t been free-flowing contests spilling over with Grade A scoring chances. The list of Tampa players without a 5-on-5 point in the series includes Stamkos, Anthony Cirelli, Alex Killorn and Mikhail Sergachev.
“In the end you’ve got to find a way against good defensive teams, whether it’s going to the dirty areas a little bit more or it’s just sheer will,” said Cooper. “It’s tough. It’s tough to score in this league, especially when you get to this time of year.”
Of course, had McDonagh’s desperation attempt fallen at the end of Game 4 they may have pulled that one out in overtime and come home with a chance to wrap up the series. That’s how thin the line is here.
With a best-of-three remaining and not much to choose between, the challenge facing the Lightning and Islanders boils down to who can tilt the edge enough in their favour to survive a white-knuckle few days here.
“It’s a defenceman making a glove save away from who knows what the series is at? That’s how close the teams are,” said Cooper. “Both teams pose problems for each other. It’s how you adapt your way around it.”
