Some 2-1 series deficits are worse than others, and this one feels worse than the other two for the Islanders.
Is there a chance they can come back against the Lightning, the way they did earlier in these playoffs against the Penguins and Bruins in the same situation?
Of course there is. They battled the defending Stanley Cup champions HARD all night in Game 3 at Nassau Coliseum on Thursday night in a 2-1 loss.
But as dire as things looked in the previous two rounds, asking the Islanders to win three out of four games in the Stanley Cup semifinals against the defending champs is asking a lot.