Teams learn more about each other throughout a playoff series, as they face each other repeatedly. Not just each team's tendencies, but also which matchups the opponent seeks and how well those matchups play out in the real-life laboratory.
Identifying ideal matchups and tendencies was part of the talk following the New York Islanders' 4-1 Game 2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, along with the escalation in physical play and the Islanders' inability to press a comeback in the third period.
Here are other themes to weigh as the series switches to New York.