Lightning vs. Islanders: Game 4 Score, Twitter Reaction from 2016 NHL Playoffs

The New York Islanders again squandered a third-period lead as they lost 2-1 in overtime to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Barclays Center on Friday to go down 3-1 in their second-round playoff series.

Jason Garrison netted the game-winner early in the extra frame to put his team on the brink of another playoff series win.

The Lightning took to Twitter to celebrate the victory:

Nikita Kucherov also scored for Tampa Bay. The 22-year-old Russian is on fire in the postseason, leading the league in playoff goals heading into Friday, according to ESPN Stats & Info: 

Kyle Okposo continued his strong postseason with a goal on the team's opening power play. He, along with John Tavares, has paced the New York offense during its playoff run.

Goaltender Thomas Greiss performed well for the Islanders, stopping 20 shots in a must-win game for his team. Despite his play, the German could not propel his team and lost his second straight decision. His play has still been huge for the team with Jaroslav Halak being shelved after suffering a groin injury.

Ben Bishop was rock-solid again for Tampa Bay. He turned aside 27 shots and kept the Lightning in the game during a first period the Islanders dominated. His performance should not come as a surprise, given his playoff history on the road, per Sportsnet Stats:

The game started with a quick pace as both teams generated scoring chances. Tampa Bay's Mike Blunden made the game's first error when he took a roughing penalty during a scrum in front of Bishop, as NHL on NBC showed:

Okposo proceeded to pot the game's first goal roughly four minutes into the contest. The winger took a nifty pass from Nikolay Kulemin and beat Bishop high on his glove side.

The NHL shared a replay:

WTSP's Chris Fischer believed the power play leading to the goal was unjustly given:

Sportsnet Stats noted Okposo is dangerous at home during the playoffs: 

As ESPN.com's John Buccigross stated, getting down early usually spells trouble for the Lightning:

The Islanders continued to control the play for the rest of the period. They led 16-6 in shots on goal and nearly beat Bishop numerous times, including a Tavares blast off the post following a rebound. New York later received a golden opportunity after Ryan Callahan, whose judgement was called into question by Newsday's Arthur Staple, took a four-minute penalty for roughing:

Tampa Bay easily killed the penalty, which salvaged its first period as it entered the intermission down by only a goal despite being drastically outplayed, as NHL.com's Bryan Burns noted:

The New York Daily News' Pat Leonard also commented on the futility of New York's second power play:

New York made up for it, though, with a special teams triumph of its own when Greiss encountered a skate issue two minutes into the second period, which Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman described:

The Islanders were able to kill off the penalty as Greiss returned after the first whistle. Jean-Francois Berube filled in nicely, and although he made a couple of slightly challenging saves, WFLA's Dan Lucas thought Berube had an easy relief job:

Compared to a fast, exciting first 20 minutes, both teams looked sloppy, with missed passes and little offensive pressure characterizing the second frame. Tampa Bay outshot New York 11-6, but outside of in-close opportunities for Okposo and Islanders defenseman Calvin de Haan, only a few shots from either team could be aptly described as legitimate scoring chances.

Tampa Bay had three power plays in the period but was stifled on each attempt. Lightning director of broadcasting Matt Sammon noticed the Bolts were trying to get too fancy instead of getting in Greiss' face:

The third period was delayed for several minutes after a zamboni hit and displaced a board. The wait seemed too long for KTSU anchor Jeff McAdam:

The New York Post's Marc Berman used the opportunity to take a shot at the borough of Brooklyn: 

Tampa Bay seemed to benefit from the lull, as it looked faster coming out of the second intermission, especially Tyler Johnson and Kucherov, who swung in a shot to tie the game, as NHL on NBC showed: 

Outside of New York's line of Casey Cizikas, Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin, the Islanders looked hesitant. As a result, the Lightning pounced to send the game to overtime—which, as the NHL pointed out, seems to be a given recently in the playoffs:

NHL teams that take 3-1 series advantages advance to the next round 90 percent of the time, per WhoWins.com. This puts the Islanders in a difficult spot as they head back to Tampa, where the Lightning are 4-1 so far in the postseason. New York is 3-2 on the road, so it could steal another one away from home.

Tampa Bay has shown it can contend for a Stanley Cup even without the injured Steven Stamkos (blood clot). This should put the team in prime position to put away the Islanders at home and advance to its second consecutive conference final.

Postgame Reaction

Somehow, the Lightning keep winning this postseason despite key injuries, while the Islanders continue to blow late leads in this series.

However, Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper does not want slow starts and late-game heroics to become a trend for his team, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times:

Despite being one of the NHL's youngest rosters, per NHLNumbers.com, the Lightning are a seasoned playoff team. This has allowed Tampa Bay to remain composed when facing postseason adversity, which Cooper acknowledged, according to Burns:

The Islanders appeared happy with their overall effort and performance, but they certainly were unsatisfied with the results.

While Okposo and the coaches said all the right things, Leonard made a much more simple suggestion for where New York should improve:

That would certainly be a wise strategy. Kucherov scored the game-tying tally in each of the last two games and also has three goals in the series. With the Islanders playing the last two contests at home and having the last-change advantage, consistently matching the speed and physicality of the Cizikas-Clutterbuck-Martin line against Johnson and Kucherov has to be a regret of the New York coaching staff.

Losing both games at home is devastating for the Islanders. They have the personnel to come back in this series one game at a time, but an experienced and explosive squad like Tampa Bay will see blood and finish off New York in Game 5 behind the play of its stars.