NHL Playoffs: When is Islanders vs. Lightning Game 5?

The Tampa Bay Lightning will try to close out the New York Islanders on Sunday afternoon.

After two consecutive road wins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Tampa Bay Lightning are one win away from eliminating the New York Islanders and moving on to the next round. Now, they’ll get a chance to finish the job on home ice.

Puck drop for Game 5 of the series is set for 3:00 p.m. Eastern on Sunday afternoon at Amalie Arena. NBC will provide television coverage while live streaming will also be available using the NBC Sports Live Extra app.

Much like in Game 3 last on Tuesday at the Barclays Center, the Islanders carried play for much of the first two periods and held a one-goal advantage late. Once again, Nikita Kucherov tied the game in the third period, scoring his NHL-best eighth goal of the postseason. Jason Garrison scored on a shot from the point just 1:34 into overtime to put Tampa Bay up 3-1 in the series.

The defense let New York down in Game 3, but it was the offense that struggled this time around. New York’s only goal came in the first period on the Power Play from Kyle Okposo, as it could not take advantage of constant pressure in the first 30 minutes of the game. The bright spot for the Islanders was the fourth line, particularly Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck, which set the tone physically and generated plenty of energy from the crowd.

Lightning goalie Ben Bishop was terrific with 27 saves to hold off the Islanders attack. That’s bad news for New York heading into Game 5, as Bishop has not been at his best this series.

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