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Isles bumped off by Boyle at Barclays

Former Ranger Delivers Big Hit, OT Winner in Chippy Game 3

May 4, 2016 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Thomas Greiss can only look up to the rafters at Barclays Center and wonder what could have been after surrendering the game-tying tally with only 38 seconds remaining in regulation Tuesday night in Downtown Brooklyn. AP photo
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It began with a little pregame bump at center ice between Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic and Tampa Bay center Brian Boyle.

It ended with Boyle banging Thomas Hickey into submission moments before scoring the game-winning goal in overtime as the Lightning stunned the Islanders, 5-4, on Tuesday to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference semifinals in front of 15,795 deeply disappointed fans at Downtown’s Barclays Center.

“That was a direct shot to the head,” fumed New York head coach Jack Capuano after Boyle, a former Ranger, pulverized Hickey with a devastating high hit, picked up the rebound of Victor Hedman’s shot off the boards and beat Thomas Greiss at 2:48 of the extra session.

“Those are the type of hits we’re trying to eliminate from our game,” added Capuano, who will have to rally his troops as they look to even the series here Friday night in Game 4. “It’s just too bad that it had to end that way.”

After a feeling-out process in Games 1 and 2, the Isles and Lightning finally locked horns in anger Tuesday night.

Hamonic and Boyle bumped shoulders at mid-ice during the pregame skate, exchanging heated words before being separated.

The brief skirmish set the tone for what was clearly the most exciting game of the series, highlighted by a flurry of huge hits, four lead changes and back-breaking goals, two of which the Isles will be haunted by all summer if they don’t manage to advance to the conference finals for the first time since 1993.

After dominating play for most of the first period, outshooting Tampa 17-9 and taking an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Josh Bailey, who returned to the lineup after missing the first two games of the series, the Isles squandered that momentum as another ex-Ranger, Ryan Callahan, evened the score with just 12.5 seconds remaining in the opening stanza.

Bailey would add his second goal of the contest to give the Isles a 3-2 lead in the third, and Cal Clutterbuck answered Vladislav Namestnikov’s tying tally with what appeared to be the game-winner at 11:23 of the period, making it 4-3 in favor of New York.

However, the defending Eastern Conference champions continued to pepper Greiss over the final 10 minutes, killing the buzz at the sold-out, state-of-the-art arena when Nikita Kucherov leveled the contest at 4-4 with only 49 ticks remaining before the end of regulation.

“It’s a tough one to swallow considering the circumstances,” admitted team captain John Tavares after being held off the scoresheet for a second consecutive game.

“It is what it is,” Tavares added. “We obviously have to overcome it, some adversity. Nothing is ever perfect in the playoffs.”

Though they had won each of their previous three overtime games in these playoffs, the Isles were clearly feeling the heat as the extra session began.

Hickey, who had sent Lightning winger Jonathan Druin to the locker room for the better part of two periods after delivering a devastating hit of his own in the second, felt the crush of Boyle’s game-changing blow while attempting to clear the puck out of the Islander zone.

From there, the Lightning deftly took advantage of Hickey’s inability to get back into the play, ending the thrilling contest on Boyle’s second goal of the postseason.

Though Capuano took issue with the severity and location of the hit, it was a fitting way for such a physical game to end, according to Tampa coach Jon Cooper.

“How many hits were in that game, 70, 80 hits?” Cooper pondered incredulously when informed of Capuano’s issue with Boyle’s blow. “I would say there were 15 harder than the one Boyle was involved in.

“To me, that was a mild hit compared to some of the banging that went on in that hockey game.”

Mild or illegal, the Lightning got exactly what they wanted out of Game 3, taking back home-ice advantage and sending a clear message to the Isles that they would not be intimated by any pre-game or in-game antics.

“I thought our guys played one of the best games we played all year,” Capuano said. “We really played a hard game, our guys should be proud of the effort. It’s just tough the way that it ended.”

“I think it was our best game so far,” echoed Frans Nielsen, who also failed to register a goal or an assist in Game 3 despite several good chances against Lightning netminder Ben Bishop. “We have to come out and try to be even better next game, but it’s frustrating right now.”

That frustration figures to mount if New York can’t find a way to send this series back to Tampa deadlocked at 2-2.

“We had a chance to close it out and we didn’t,” Bailey lamented. “Now it’s about how you respond.”

Isle Have Another: Greiss finished with 36 saves and Nick Leddy scored his first goal of the playoffs in Game 3, which helped New York even the contest at 2-2 in the second period … Tuesday marked just the second time in their nine postseason games that the Islanders scored first … Tampa ended a three-game losing streak at Barclays with Tuesday’s victory.

 

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