NHL Playoffs 2020: Game 3 TV Schedule and Prediction for Lightning vs. Islanders

Only four teams in NHL history have overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven playoff series.

That's why Friday night's matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning will be crucial for the New York Islanders, who are looking to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole in the Eastern Conference Final. The Lightning opened the series with a dominant 8-2 win and pulled out a 2-1 victory in Game 2.

If Tampa Bay wins again in Game 3, it is almost certainly on its way to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2015. But New York has been an underdog for much of the postseason, and it proved in Game 2 that it has enough to be competitive in this series.

Here's everything you need to know heading into Friday's contest, the lone NHL playoff action of the day.

Game 3 Information

Date: Friday, Sept. 11

Time: 8 p.m. ET

TV: USA Network

Preview, Prediction

If there's anything that could slow down the Lightning in Game 3, it's the absence of some of their key players. And while they have made it this far without captain Steven Stamkos (lower-body injury), other notable players also might not be on the ice Friday.

Center Brayden Point suffered an unspecified injury during Game 2, and coach Jon Cooper said Thursday that it's "a possibility" that Point will miss Game 3, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. If Point doesn't play, that will be a huge loss for the Lightning.

Through 15 games this postseason, Point has the most points of any player still active in the postseason (23) on eight goals and 15 assists.

There's less uncertainty surrounding Tampa Bay left winger Alex Killorn, who will miss Game 3 after being suspended for a boarding penalty in Game 2. Killorn has four goals and three assists in these playoffs.

While the Lightning will be without those offensive players, they will have right winger Nikita Kucherov, who scored the game-winning goal in Game 2 with 8.8 seconds remaining. The 27-year-old has had a big postseason (six goals and 16 assists in 15 games), and his team may be reliant upon him to generate more offense in Game 3 if Point isn't on the ice with him.

However, don't expect that to be a problem. As Tampa Bay has shown throughout this series, it's a better team than New York and should be considered the Stanley Cup favorite. The Lightning have gone 12-3 this postseason (which includes five-game series victories against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Boston Bruins) and will move a step closer to a series win against the Islanders with a Game 3 victory.

Not only has Tampa Bay dominated offensively in this series, but it's also been impressive on defense, holding New York to three goals over the first two games. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has 49 saves between those two contests, and he hasn't allowed more than two goals in any of his past five games.

The Eastern Conference Final may not end in a sweep, as the Islanders showed they are a solid team with their performances against the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers. They may come back in Game 4 to stave off elimination.

But the Lightning have too much momentum and have been playing too well to let the Islanders make this series close. Kucherov will score another key goal to support another strong showing from the defense, and Tampa Bay will take a 3-0 lead to move closer to a return to the Stanley Cup Final.