Islanders: Three Takeaways from 3-2 Game Four Win vs Lightning

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Ryan Pulock #6 of the New York Islanders. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images) /

In front of a raucous Saturday night crowd, the New York Islanders bested the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in Game Four of their Stanley Cup Semi-Finals series.

Thanks to Ryan Pulock’s last-second heroics, the New York Islanders withstood a third-period surge by the Tampa Bay Lightning to win Game Four of their Stanley Cup Semi-Finals series 3-2. The win drew them even at 2-2 in the series headed into a pivotal Game Five in Tampa.

Here are three takeaways from Game Four.

1. Pulock’s Last Second Block Saves Islanders

I think we might as well just dive straight into the defining play of the game, and that was Ryan Pulock’s last second block at the Islanders goal line which sealed the win.

With both Brock Nelson and Semyon Varlamov sprawling out of position, and Ryan McDonagh flinging a spin-o-rama backhander from the slot toward the yawning Islander goal, Pulock dove on hand and knee to turn that puck aside. Just incredible. That feels like the ending to a Mighty Ducks movie or something.

It felt like the entirety of the Nassau Coliseum crowd held their collective breath as Varlamov charged out of his net to challenge McDonagh, who then spun to render him out of position. Then, this absolutely deafening roar and release of emotion as Pulock punched that puck away from the goalmouth.

That was a special, special moment. The kind where you instantly know you’re going to be seeing that play for years and years to come, regardless of the result of the series. It was a defining moment.

Pulock is coming off the best regular season of his career at age 26, despite struggling to score with that heavy slap shot which he possesses. He solidified himself as an elite top-pairing defenseman for this Islanders club in 2020-21, and Saturday night he got to put his stamp on a crucial, must-win game for his team in the most visible way possible.

Ryan Pulock probably just etched his name into the annals of New York Islanders lore forever.

One thing I noticed being back at the Coliseum Saturday for the first time in almost a year and a half was the swell of new Adam Pelech jerseys I saw amongst the crowd. I didn’t see a ton of Pulock 6’s walking around the halls of the Coli but would be shocked if that doesn’t change after Saturday.

Matt Martin #17 of the New York Islanders. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images) /

2. The Fourth Line’s Fantastic Night

The Islanders fourth line was their best 5v5 unit in Saturday’s game. Obviously, Matt Martin’s goal which pushed the Isles out to a 3-0 lead late in the second period was a crucial contribution. As was Cal Clutterbuck’s low shot from the point which enabled Mathew Barzal to make it a 2-0 game only minutes earlier.

But the fourth line’s impact was felt in more than just the scoreboard.

That group was absolutely dogged on the forecheck and hemmed Tampa into their own end on a few different occasions. The most important of those forechecks was for a portion of what amounted to nearly two minutes of time spent in the Tampa zone in the final four and a half minutes of the third period.

Altogether, the fourth line totaled nine 5v5 hits among the three of them, according to Natural Stat Trick. With the fourth line on the ice, the Islanders controlled 72.7% of unblocked 5v5 shot attempts (FF%). 5v5 scoring chances (SCF) and expected goals (xGF%) were both heavily tilted in New York’s favor at 6-2 and 63.47% respectively. The latter stat having been adjusted for score and venue.

Casey Cizikas, entrusted with taking faceoffs in both the neutral and defensive zones, finished his night having won seven of nine draws in all situations, for a nearly 78% win rate.

That the Islanders don’t have the most star-laden lineup in the NHL is often brought to the forefront of the conversation when talking about the team. But, in the same breath the depth of this group, particularly at the forward positions, deserves hearty commendation.

It’s not every team that can so steadfastly rely on their fourth line as the Islanders did Saturday, and that’s just another part of what makes this Isles squad tick. Hopefully going forward we can see more of the same from this group because it’s quite obvious they’re a better team when Casey and Co. are firing on all cylinders.

Mathew Barzal #13 of the New York Islanders celebrates with Cal Clutterbuck #15, Ryan Pulock #6 and Adam Pelech #3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

3. Islanders Found some Puck Luck in Game Four Win

In my previous three takeaways from game three, I talked about how the Islanders needed to find a way to score some goals, and how puck luck would likely play something of a role in that. They scored thrice in Game Four, equalling their combined total from Games Two and Three, and won because of it.

Now, when I say the Islanders found some puck luck, I don’t mean to say they weren’t the deserving winners of Game Four, and I don’t mean that their goals were flukey or otherwise exclusively luck-driven either.

What I mean to say is that pucks simply started finding twine rather than pads or posts in Game Four. The Islanders beat Andrei Vasilevskiy clean twice in Game One, and then pretty much failed to do so throughout the following two contests.

Brock Nelson’s Game Two goal was clean-ish, but it was also the direct result of a flubbed clearing attempt by Ryan McDonagh.

But then Josh Bailey receives a perfect cross-seam pass from Brock Nelson and beats the 2021 Vezina finalist high on the glove side with a perfectly placed wrist shot to open the Game Four scoring. Remember, he had beaten Vasilevskiy earlier this series as well, but hit the crossbar with a backhanded attempt.

Both Tampa’s high-danger save percentage (HDSV%) and high-danger shooting percentage (HDSH%) for this series fell after Game Four. Meanwhile, the Islanders’ HDSV% and HDSH% rose to the point where both teams are just about equal in those categories headed back to Tampa for Game Five.

This isn’t to say the Islanders have Tampa reeling or anything either because that’s not what I’m doing, it’s simply stating that throughout Games Two and Three Tampa were the beneficiaries of some great puck luck while the Islanders were victims of very little to no puck luck at all.

With the teams now on more even footing in the shooting and goaltending success departments, Games Five and Six will certainly be fascinating to watch unfold.

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