Kucherov decides he wants a share of the League-lead. He buries his sixth to make it 4-2. #TBLvsNYI #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/bZ6refUl62
— NHL (@NHL) April 28, 2016
A 3 Goal Lead: The Scariest Lead in Hockey
Coming into the 3rd period, Islanders fans were experiencing a foreign concept to them in this playoff run; their team holding a multiple goal lead.
After battering Ben Bishop to the tune of 4 goals on 13 SOG, New York was riding high heading into the final frame up 4-1. But as is often the case with this particular team, things are often too good to be true. Nikita Kucherov sparked the Lightning with a goal at 7:41, and from that point it was strictly a nail-biting, nervous affair for Islanders fans.
Vaitteri Flippula punched one past Thomas Greiss after a late period Power Play opportunity expired for Tampa Bay, and things were looking quite bleak for New York. Luckily for the Islanders, their late game magic held once more, and Calvin De Haan was able to poke check the puck to a streaking Cizikas who was able to connect with Clutterbuck for the easily empty-net goal. And with that, New York cemented their victory.