Yardbarker
x
NHL postseason Round 2 quick hits: Lightning vs. Islanders
The Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders are set to clash in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Mike Stobe/Getty Images

NHL postseason Round 2 quick hits: Lightning vs. Islanders

Vitals
New York: 45-27-10 regular season, 4-2-0 in six games played in Round 1
Tampa Bay: 46-31-5 regular season, 4-1-0 in five games played in Round 1

Season Series
New York took the three-game series 2-1, with Thomas Greiss getting both wins for the Isles.

Playoff History
The only time these teams met in the playoffs, Tampa Bay beat New York in five games in the first round in 2004. The Lightning went on to win its lone Stanley Cup championship.

Looking at the Round 2 Matchup
John Tavares and the Isles exceeded expectations by knocking Jaromir Jagr and the Florida Panthers out of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now they face an even tougher opponent in Tampa Bay, who is looking to get back to the Final after losing to the Chicago Blackhawks last spring.

Greiss will have to continue his solid postseason performance from Round 1 against a hot Lightning offense that includes Nikita Kucherov, who has been a scoring machine since notching the first goal of these playoffs. While he already played well against the Bolts during the regular season, Greiss’s “goal” is still to be better than the guy at the other end of the ice, Ben Bishop, who registered a .950 save percentage and 1.61 goals-against average in Tampa’s first-round series against the Detroit Red Wings.

Special teams could make or break this series, with both teams being stout on the kill and reportedly looking for more consistent production on the man advantage than they had in Round 1.

The big “unknown” going into Round 2? Whether Bolts superstar Steven Stamkos will take the ice. The captain practiced for the first time on Tuesday since having surgery to remove a blood clot at the beginning of April. Per an NHL.com report, Stamkos wore a non-contact jersey at practice and has to come off blood thinners before he can resume playing.

Quotables
“We need to raise our level of play… That's kind of how it goes in the playoffs; everything gets even tighter and tighter. It's a good sign we're able to win when we're not at your best. Hopefully we can keep improving." —center Valtteri Filppula, on the Bolts beating Detroit in Round 1 (via Joe Smith, Tampa Bay Times)

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.