For the Tampa Bay Lightning, Game 6 with the New York Islanders had all the makings horror show.
The Lightning were out shooting the Isles by a 2-to-1 margin, and controlled much of the play for 60 minutes.
All the Bolts had to show for the effort was a 1-1 tie and a chance to go to overtime and a chance to lose.
For the Islanders, it looked like another chance to keep the crystal slipper on for one more game, but Anthony Cirelli ended their season with the game-winner at 13:18 of extra time to push the Lightning into the Stanley Cup Final.
The slipper ended up being from the dollar store.
“The emotion is just so high,” Cirelli said. “We worked all year. Our goal was to be playing for the Stanley Cup. We’re here now, so I think it’s every kid’s dream to be in this situation.”
Brock Nelson missed a chance to keep the Isles in the dance but he missed on a breakaway after stealing puck.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made that save and 25 others to get the Eastern Conference Final-winning victory.
“The exuberance and relief, it’s unparalleled how you feel inside,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. “It’s about the players and the effort, dedication and perseverance they’ve put into this. They’re the ones that deserve this because they’ve done all the work.”
Victor Hedman had the Lightning’s regulation goal, when he tied the game up at 1-1.
“We had four months to rest before the playoffs started,” Hedman said. “We’re a confident group. … We’re in the Final. We have a lot of energy. We’re super excited. This is not the time to think about how you feel. This is when you go after it. You’ve got to empty the tank.”
Devon Toews put the Isles on good footing when he stuck in the first period for a lead.
“It’s a special group in our room,” New York’s Anders Lee said. “Until that very last minute, every single one of us believed in each other and what we were doing, and the road we were on. Obviously, we come up short, but there’s a huge source of pride right now.”
Game 1 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Final is set for Saturday
“I’m real proud of them and the strides we made, but we’re obviously disappointed as a group,” New York head coach Barry Trotz said. “This group felt two things: We felt we could represent the East, and the second thing is hopefully play for the Stanley Cup. We fell a little bit short.”
[WATCH: All Lightning vs. Islanders Highlights]
Semyon Varlamov made 46 saves in the loss.
“I think the bar has always been set high,” the Islanders’ Scott Mayfield said. “I think this year shows other people how high we think it is. … It hurts now, but I guess that’s a silver lining, if you want to look at it that way. It’s trending in the right direction.”
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