NHL Playoffs 2016: Schedule Guide for Sunday's Stanley Cup Round 2 Games

After winning their first postseason series since 1993 in the first round, the New York Islanders are on the brink of elimination.

The Islanders may have an issue with the hockey gods in their second-round series with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Despite playing two strong games at home in Brooklyn, the Islanders dropped Games 3 and 4 in overtime.

As a result, the Islanders are trailing in the series 3-1. If the Lightning can win Sunday afternoon's game at the Amalie Arena, they will close out John Tavares and Co.

New York and Tampa Bay are meeting in the only game on the NHL's Sunday schedule.

The Islanders dictated the pace in both of the games at Barclays Center, but they could not win either one. They were floored by the late tying goal in Game 3 that forced overtime, and the Lightning scored early in the extra session to win the game.

Tampa Bay once again received a tying third-period goal in Game 4, although this one came much earlier in the period off the stick of Nikita Kucherov(at the 7:49 mark). The game went to overtime, and defenseman Jason Garrison wasted little time giving the Lightning the victory, blasting a slap shot home from the blue line at the 1:34 mark of the extra period.

Matchup	Series Standings	Time (ET)	TV	Skinny
New York Islanders at Tampa Bay Lightning	Tampa Bay, 3-1	3 p.m.	NBC, TVAS, SN	Islanders must cash in on scoring opportunities.

The Islanders could well be ahead 3-1 or tied 2-2, but they instead find themselves preparing to play an elimination game.

Tavares believes the Islanders can't afford to look at the negatives as they get ready to play in Tampa. 

"You've just got to take the positives," Tavares told Brian Compton of NHL.com. "Obviously in the playoffs, it's such a fine line. It's very tight and we've just got to make the plays when they're there. We obviously have to try and capitalize on some more of our opportunities, especially from last game."

The Islanders opened the scoring in Game 4 on Kyle Okposo's power-play goal early in the first period, but they couldn't come through on any of their other scoring opportunities through the first two periods. As a result, they opened the door for the Lightning to come back in the third and win the game in the extra session.

The biggest difference between these two teams is the attitude and opportunistic play the Lightning have showed in the extra sessions.

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

"It's kind of worked out for us these last two games," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said on a conference call Friday. "I don't know if there's a perfect art to it other than the fact that you have to let your team know that this is not the time to be passing up shots. It sounds like a cliché that there's no such thing as a bad shot but that must have been said 10 times in the locker room before we went out for overtime." 

If Game 5 is tight and needs overtime once again, don't expect the Lightning to change anything. They will come out firing and try to put even more pressure on the Islanders as they play for their postseason lives.

It has worked so far, and it could work again.