Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Open Post- Day 28 Of The Stanley Cup Playoffs

06/13/2021 at 2:50pm EDT

The New York Islanders enter game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning as the underdog.

We are about to find out how these two teams matchup against each other.

Below, find out more about the Islanders and Lightning.


via the NHL PR department

Pre-game
* The Lightning are a part of the final four for the seventh time in franchise history and fifth time in seven years (also 2004, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2018 & 2020), while the Islanders are among the final four for the 12th time in franchise history (also 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1993 & 2020).

* Tampa Bay has reached the Stanley Cup Final three times (2004, 2015 & 2020), defeating Calgary in 2004 to claim their first championship and defeating Dallas to win their second in 2020.

* New York has not reached the Stanley Cup Final since it made five consecutive trips to championship series from 1980-84, winning the Cup in each of the first four.

* The Lightning go head-to-head with the Islanders for a berth to the Stanley Cup Final for a second consecutive year. It marks the second time in the last 20 years that a pair of NHL franchises have met in the final four in consecutive playoff years (also CHI vs. LAK in the CF in 2013 and 2014).

* The Lightning are 3-0 in three all-time postseason series against the Islanders, including a six-game victory during the 2020 Conference Finals en route to winning a Stanley Cup (also 2004 CQF & 2016 R2).

* Brayden Point (8-4—12 in 11 GP) has scored a goal in each of his last three games, including the series-clinching goal in Game 5, and is tied with Nathan MacKinnon (8-7—15 in 10 GP) and Brad Marchand (8-4—12 in 11 GP) for the most goals in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He can become the sixth player in Lightning history to extend his playoff goal streak to four or more games. The others: Ondrej Palat (5 GP in 2020), Victor Hedman (4 GP in 2020), Steven Stamkos (4 GP in 2018 & 2015), Vincent Lecavalier (4 GP in 2007) and Martin St. Louis (4 GP in 2003).

* Brock Nelson (22-17—39 in 60 GP), who scored the series-clinching goal in Game 6 of the Second Round, has 22 career playoff goals to his name and can surpass Duane Sutter (22- 30—52 in 120 GP) for sole possession of 10th place on the Islanders’ all-time list.

* The Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy (41) and Islanders’ Semyon Varlamov (28) enter the series owning the second- and fourth-most playoff wins in NHL history among Russian-national goaltenders, respectively.

* Semyon Varlamov enters the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals having won each of his last three games after teammate Ilya Sorokin recorded a win streak of four games in the First Round. Should Varlamov extend his run to four contests, it would mark the third time in NHL history that a team has had two different goaltenders post personal win streaks of four or more games in a single playoff year. The others: Boston in 1972 (Eddie Johnston: 6 GP & Gerry Cheevers: 4 GP) and Philadelphia in 1980 (Phil Myre: 5 GP & Pete Peeters: 5 GP).

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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