It may have taken six games and two overtimes, but it is now known that the Tampa Bay Lightning will face the New York Islanders in Round 2 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Tampa Bay Lightning were able to band together as one and defeat the Detroit Red Wings in five games and advance to the next round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. While the Lightning may have stamped their ticket to the next round, there is still one uncertain in front of them. Just who would the Tampa Bay Lightning be taking on in the next round. Thankfully, we finally have our answer to this burning question.
It may have taken six games and two overtime periods, but we finally know the Tampa Bay Lightning will be facing the New York Islanders in the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This certainly presents an interesting challenge for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Things between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Islanders have been a bit dicey this season. The Isles took two of the three encounters this season.
On the bright side, in the one game the Tampa Bay Lightning were able to take from the New York Islanders this season the Lightning brought home a 7-5 victory over the Isles. Unlike the series against the Detroit Red Wings, the Tampa Bay Lightning don’t exactly have a lot of bad blood and/or ill will against the Islanders. While the next series may not be as physically challenging, it will be challenging for all the right reasons.
The New York Islanders went 45-27-10 this season to capture the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. As most of you know by now, the Tampa Bay Lightning capped off the regular season with a 46-31-5 to capture the second place position in the Atlantic Division. When you look at things in black and white it looks as if there is a bit of a disparity between these two teams, but the postseason is unlike anything else.
The postseason is the time of the year when the events of the regular season take their place in a team’s history and the team progresses to the next level; a level where each and every night the players leave it all out on the ice in the hopes of making their way towards achieving their ultimate goal, to one day soon hoist the Stanley Cup high above their heads in victory.
Next: Lightning Come Alive In Third To Eliminate Red Wings
Both teams have come a long way to get to where they are right now, but the important thing right now is the road which they are headed down. The schedule for the next round has not yet been announced by the National Hockey League; however, as soon as the information is available, we will pass it along to you.