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| - Russian right wing Nikita Kucherov scored with nine seconds remaining Wednesday to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders in the NHL playoffs. Kucherov took a pass from the left boards across the crease by Ryan McDonagh and blasted the puck past Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov to give the Lightning a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final. "I just made a quick little eye contact with Kuch after I got the puck," McDonagh said. "I knew I had to get it there fast and he did the rest, great hand-eye contract." Game three will be on Friday in the NHL COVID-19 quarantine bubble at Edmonton, Canada, with the winner to face either Vegas or Dallas in the Stanley Cup Final. "Gutsy win for sure," McDonagh said. "Got to be more disciplined and keep finding ways to win." Matt Martin had scored 84 seconds into the game to give the Islanders the early lead but Victor Hedman lifted Tampa Bay level with 1:35 remaining in the first period. The Lightning, down to nine forwards after a second-period injury to Brayden Point, saved the winning goal until late when Kucherov netted his sixth goal of the playoffs and seventh career game-winning playoff goal. "He made a nice pass across the ice," Kucherov said. "All I had to do is hit it in. "Huge goal in the series. Definitely it was huge for us. It's not easy for us with nine guys. We had to wait for our chances." It was the sixth win in a row for the Lightning, who won their only Stanley Cup in 2004, and Hedman's fourth game in a row with a goal. "We showed a lot of resiliency," Hedman said. "A big relief to see that one go in by Kuch." Tampa Bay's penalty killers stopped four New York extra-man situations and the Islanders are only 1-for-9 on the power play in the series. Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves. js/rcw
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