Islanders must maintain same focus as they had in Game 3 win

The Islanders have proved adept at not letting losses, both blowouts and heartbreakers, negatively affect their next performance. But they must maintain that same focus coming off a win if they hope to even their Eastern Conference finals against the Lightning.

Game 4 is Sunday afternoon at Rogers Place in Edmonton. The Islanders won Friday night’s Game 3, 5-3 after an 8-2 loss in Monday’s Game 1 and a well-played 2-1 defeat in Wednesday’s Game 2 as Nikita Kucherov scored the winner with 8.8 seconds left in regulation.

"You get that win, it’s huge," defenseman Ryan Pulock said on Saturday, an off day for the Islanders. "But you’ve got to move on. You can look back and take some of the stuff we did well, see what gave us success and try to carry that over. Win or loss, you find things to be better at. Win or loss, it’s kind of the same in terms of washing it (away) and being ready to go the next game."

If Game 3 was a 99.9% must-win for the Islanders – only four teams in NHL history have rallied from a 3-0 series deficit – that percentage doesn’t dip much at all for Game 4 with the Lightning trying to take a 3-1 series lead.

"I think the reason we won (Friday) was because of the mindset in Game 2," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "With the way the scheduled worked out, playing Game 7 (against the Flyers in Toronto two days before Game 1), I didn’t think Game 1 was a fair representation. Game 2 gave us confidence we could win Game 3. Now, we’re within a game of tying the series up.

"We’re going to get their best game for sure and we’ve got to have our best game," Trotz added. "We’re in a position to get to a best-of-three. The opposition doesn’t want that. We’ve got to do everything in our power to get to a best-of-three."

It’s unclear whether the Islanders will have Casey Cizikas available after the invaluable fourth-line center missed Game 3 with an undisclosed injury.

The Lightning will have Alex Killorn back after the top-six left wing served a one-game suspension for his boarding major against Brock Nelson in the first period of Game 1. The Lightning could also get top-line center Brayden Point back after he missed Game 3 with an undisclosed injury.

Plus, the Lightning, who are 10-3 this postseason, have won both their games in their previous series coming off a loss.

"I just think we go to the mindset of playing every game like it’s a clinching game," Lightning left wing Pat Maroon said. "We’re going to find ways to keep playing the way we’re playing. We know how to bounce back when a loss happens. We’ve just got to find ways to turn the page. I think we did that. We’ll get a good Islanders’ team. They’re not backing down."

But as much as the Islanders were happy with their resiliency after blowing a two-goal lead in the third period of Game 3, then scoring the last two after the Lightning tied it at 3-3, the Lightning, in coach Jon Cooper’s words, felt they "gift-wrapped" that game because of their defensive miscues.

"We tighten up a couple of things in our own end and we’re going to be fine," Cooper said.

Many of those defensive miscues were the result of the Islanders’ strong forecheck and physical play in the offensive zone.

Wearing the opposition down physically is a goal in any playoff series. The Islanders may be doing it effectively.

"That’s the kind of style we like to play," Pulock said. "Continue to invest. Play hard and physical. It doesn’t matter who you are. If you’re getting hit every shift, it wears on you. Some of our success is wearing teams down. It’s something we’re going to continue to do and, hopefully, it helps down the road."

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.