Lightning v. Islanders

Who will WIN this matchup?

Tampa Bay Lightning

New York Islanders

Starting Goalies:

Andrei Vasilevskiy (TB): Unconfirmed

Semyon Varlamov (NYI): Unconfirmed

Current odds:

Tampa Bay Lightning: (-160)

New York Islanders: (+140)

• As fast as Semyon Varlamov darted up the ice late Tuesday night, all that goalie equipment made it impossible for the New York Islanders netminder to join the celebration as quickly as he wanted. So at center ice, Varlamov channeled his inner Pete Rose — or maybe his inner teenager atop a snowy hill — by diving, extending his arms and sliding into the gaggle of teammates mobbing one another along the boards. The celebratory moment of the NHL’s postseason means the Islanders still have a chance to complete the comeback of the postseason. Down 3-2, the Islanders will look to push the Eastern Conference finals to the limit Thursday night when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 in Edmonton. The Islanders staved off elimination in dramatic fashion in Game 5, when Jordan Eberle scored with 7:30 left in the second overtime to lift New York to a 2-1 win.

• Eberle’s tie-breaking goal capped a game that embodied the grind of playoff hockey and the task of closing out a series. The two teams combined for 61 shots, including just 20 in the 32-plus minutes of overtime, and went 68:30 without a goal before Eberle’s game-winner. The Islanders dodged disaster at least twice in the extra sessions, first by killing off Anthony Beauvillier’s four-minute penalty that began late in regulation and then during a minute-plus span deep in their own zone in the first overtime after Scott Mayfield’s stick broke. New York blocked three shots during the subsequent flurry by the Lightning — including one by Anders Lee, who handed his stick to Mayfield.

• The Lightning, who lost in overtime for the first time in five tries in the postseason, nearly punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Dallas Stars twice more. Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock smothered a puck near the crease in the waning seconds of the first overtime and Nikita Kucherov fired wide of the open corner of the net fewer than four minutes into the second overtime.

• The Lightning may once again be without center Brayden Point, who missed his second game of the series with an undisclosed injury. Cooper said Wednesday he didn’t know if Point, who was hurt in Game 2 and returned for Game 4, would be available Thursday.