TAMPA, Fla. — No one said it was going to be easy, nor did the Islanders think that.
Yet Saturday’s 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay in Game 2 of the second-round playoff series on Saturday afternoon at Amalie Arena made clear the Lightning are not only a team that can play wide open and try to outscore you, they also can be a tight and responsible team. Now the Isles are going to have to figure out how to beat that incarnation if they want to advance.
This loss did more than just tie the best-of-seven contest at one game apiece going back to Brooklyn for Game 3 on Tuesday night.