NHL Playoffs 2016: Stanley Cup Title Odds, Latest Schedule and Picks

The New York Islanders have had two full days to get over their heartbreak after losing Game 3 of their second-round playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning in overtime Tuesday.

Perhaps they have been stewing in it, because it's hard to get over a game that you led in the last minute until your opponents tied it up with the goaltender pulled.

Game 3 should have gone to the Islanders, but the Lightning prevailed, 5-4. If Game 4 does not belong to New York on Friday, the Lightning will have a stranglehold on the series and take a 3-1 advantage back to the Amalie Arena in Tampa for Game 5.

The return of defenseman Ryan Pulock could help the Islanders in their attempt to even up the series.

Pulock, a hard-shooting defenseman who might be able to give the New York power play a lift, was back at practice Thursday. He has been out with an upper-body injury since Game 4 of the Islanders' first-round series against the Florida Panthers.

Matchup	Series	Date	Time (ET)	TV
Tampa Bay at New York Islanders	Tampa Bay, 2-1	May 6	7 p.m.	NBCSN, CBC, TVAS
St. Louis at Dallas	2-2	May 7	1 p.m.	NBC, TVAS, SN
Pittsburgh at Washington	Pittsburgh, 3-1	May 7	7:15 p.m.	NBC, CBC, TVAS
Nashville at San Jose	2-2	May 7	10 p.m.	NBCSN, CBC, TVAS

"I'm feeling better," he said after skating in practice, per Brian Compton of NHL.com. "Every day, it's a little better. Obviously I'm doing everything I can to speed up the recovery. As of right now, it's feeling pretty good."

Pulock said his status for Game 4 could come down to a game-time decision. He has to show no ill effects from participating in practice, and head coach Jack Capuano has to feel good about putting him in the lineup. 

"It was just a 35-minute skate here this morning," Capuano said, per Compton. "We'll get an idea of where he is; I think, with a couple days off, obviously helps. It's one of those things that with all the healthy [defensemen] that we have, we just want to make sure that he's close to 100 percent as possible to try to help us."

The Lightning know they have a great opportunity in front of them Friday night. The natural tendency might be to say that Tampa Bay got its road win in Game 3, and it's just a matter of winning home games from this point forward.

Team	Odds
Dallas Stars	+755
Nashville Predators	+2,550
New York Islanders	+1,650
Pittsburgh Penguins	+208
San Jose Sharks	+505
St. Louis Blues	+355
Tampa Bay Lightning	+855
Washington Capitals	+1,155

However, Tyler Johnson said the team knows it has to play better to earn a second consecutive road win. 

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

"Heading back to Tampa 3-1 is a lot better than 2-2," he told Compton. "We did the work in [Game 3], and we got the win. Now we have to focus our attention on [Friday]. We have to play our game. I think we can be a lot better than what we were, but we just have to keep battling and do the things we need to."

The Lightning used a goal by Nikita Kucherov at the 19:21 mark of the third period to tie the score and then won the game thanks to Brian Boyle's goal at the 2:48 mark of the first overtime.

The Islanders appeared to be in command of the game after getting two goals from Josh Bailey and one each from Cal Clutterbuck and Nick Leddy. However, Kucherov got open between the circles before he whipped his shot past Thomas Greiss for the goal that sent the game into the extra session.

Prediction

The Islanders felt good about themselves after winning the series opener in Tampa, but now they are in trouble.

New York is led by the redoubtable John Tavares, who has recorded 11 points in nine playoff games. It would not be a surprise if Tavares does the heavy lifting and tells his Islanders teammates to jump on his back Friday.

However, the Lightning are fast and explosive. If the Islanders are going to win this game, the defense must take it up a notch and slow down the Tampa Bay attack.

Look for the Islanders to play their best game of the series and win a tight 2-1 contest.