The New York Islanders are no strangers to must-win games. The club spent practically the entire final month of the regular season with their backs against the wall, only barely punching their ticket to the playoffs thanks to a remarkable sprint down the stretch.
And yet, outmatched through three games against the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it was worth wondering whether they’d have any fight left.
Sound familiar? A similar story had started to develop around the Tampa Bay Lightning in the early days of 2024. The team that for the past five years has been setting the bar for other Eastern Conference clubs and pushing opponents to the brink of elimination had to fight its way into a wild-card spot down the stretch only to match up against some not-so-friendly neighbours in Florida.
With both squads down 3-0 heading into Saturday’s matinee matchups and feeling the threat of being swept, we nearly saw the playoff field narrowed to 14. But both the Islanders and Lightning rallied, in two very different ways, to hold off the handshakes and close out Saturday without a sweep.
Here are our takeaways from two must-win Game 4 victories for the home teams.
Barzal breaks goal drought just in time to keep Islanders alive
Something’s been missing from the New York Islanders of late. While their offence has, at times, been hard to find over the course of the 2023-24 campaign, the disappearance of leading scorer Mathew Barzal has been a storyline to start the post-season.
Barzal, who led New York in points this year with 80, entered Saturday’s must-win matchup with a goal drought dating back to March 30. He had just a single assist through three playoff games against Carolina heading into Game 4.
Safe to say, he’s found his scoring touch once again — and it couldn’t have come at a better time. After 12 goalless games for No. 13, Barzal propelled his team to victory with his two-goal outing, including the game-winner in double overtime to keep the Islanders alive with a 3-2 win.
Barzal’s first goal of these Stanley Cup Playoffs was scored midway through the second period, a dazzling play that saw him sprint into Carolina’s zone, deke his way up and down the side boards, and fire a shot past Frederik Andersen to even the score of Game 4 at 1-1. The goal clearly brought a jolt of energy to his Long Island teammates — centreman Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored his first of the post-season to give New York a 2-1 lead in the third period, with Islanders assists leader Noah Dobson registering his first point of the playoffs on the goal with his primary assist on the play.
Barzal’s second of the post-season came 1:14 into double overtime when he deflected a shot from Robert Bortuzzo to trick Andersen and send this series to a Game 5.
Special teams take centre stage on Long Island
We all know the difference between wins and losses in the post-season so often comes down to special teams. And on Saturday on Long Island, there was no shortage of evidence to that fact. Of the four goals scored in regulation, three were scored with the man advantage — including both of the Hurricanes’ markers.
Captain Stamkos comes up clutch to avoid sweep
The last time Steven Stamkos and the Lightning met up with the Panthers in the playoffs, in the spring of 2022, Tampa Bay swept Florida en route to the Stanley Cup Final. On Saturday, with Tampa Bay down 3-0 in the series, the captain and his club made sure their in-state rivals wouldn’t be returning the favour.
Stamkos kicked off Game 4’s scoring early in the first period, sparking a three-goal start for the home side and extending his post-season goal streak. He’s now scored in all four games this series — but he didn’t stop there. Midway through the third period, with Florida showing plenty of fight with three goals of their own in the second frame, Stamkos drove home an insurance marker to give Tampa Bay a little breathing room in what ended up being a 6-3 victory for the Lightning.
Stamkos’ pair of goals has him now sitting at five this series — a post-season that could be his last with the Lightning, depending on what this summer brings for the captain and pending UFA.
Stamkos wasn’t the only player ready to remind the hockey world about the perils of counting Tampa Bay out — Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman each contributed three assists as the Lightning’s Cup-winning core came to play, while Brandon Hagel scored two goals and added a helper for a three-point outing.
Sergachev’s return to Lightning’s lineup brings spark to Tampa Bay
The Lightning got a huge boost to their lineup Saturday with the incredible return of defenceman Mikhail Sergachev. Considered done for the season after suffering a devastating fractured fibula in February, Sergachev was in the lineup Saturday to make his 2024 post-season debut just 80 days after the injury.
It would’ve been a remarkable comeback even if he’d only taken warmups. That he played just over 17 minutes and registered an assist and two blocked shots puts his comeback on a whole other level.
