If the New York Islanders played their last game at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday night, it was a night that fans will never forget.
After a disastrous 8-0 loss in Game 5 of their Stanley Cup Semifinals series on Monday, the Islanders battled back in Game 6 on Wednesday night from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-2 in overtime, to force a Game 7 on Friday night at Amalie Arena.
The Lightning opened the scoring late in the first period when forward Brayden Point was able to corral a bouncing puck in front of the Islanders net and backhand a shot past goalie Semyon Varlamov.
The goal was Point's 14th goal of the playoffs and his ninth goal in nine-consecutive playoff games. The 25-year-old is one game away from matching a Stanley Cup Playoffs record for goals scored in consecutive games. With a goal scored in Game 7 on Friday, Point would match former Philadelphia Flyers forward Reggie Leach's record with a goal in 10-straight playoff games.
The Lightning extended its lead to 2-0 at the 12:36 mark of the second period when forward Anthony Cirelli got a step on the Islanders defense and got loose for a breakaway. Cirelli was able to slide his shot through the five-hole of Varlamov for his fourth goal of the playoffs.
However, the Islanders responded quickly with a goal from forward Jordan Eberle less than two minutes later. The veteran winger took a back-pass from linemate Mathew Barzal, managed to find some space and fired a backhander past the blocker of Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.
With less than nine minutes left in regulation, the Islanders tied the game at 2-2 thanks to an excellent effort from defenseman Scott Mayfield. The blue liner decided to get aggressive and take the puck deep into the Lightning zone, where he fired a high wrist shot over Vasilevskiy's glove to even the score.
After 60 minutes of regulation, the Lightning and Islanders remained tied at 2-2, which forced overtime for the first time in the series. But it did not take long for the New York to score the game-winning goal and pack their bags for Game 7 back in Tampa Bay.
At the 1:08 mark of the first overtime period, Islanders forward Anthony Beauvillier was able to steal a pass from Lightning forward Blake Coleman, and he quickly fired a wrist shot over the glove hand of Vasilevskiy to send the fans of Nassau Coliseum into a frenzy.
The goal was Beauvillier's fifth of the playoffs, and also the first overtime playoff goal of his career.
Following the conclusion of the Islanders' 2020-21 season, the team will be leaving the friendly confines of the Nassau Coliseum and moving to the new UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. Construction of the new arena is still ongoing, but it is expected to be completed by the time the season starts in October.
The Islanders have not been to the Stanley Cup Final since 1984 when they lost to Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers in five games. This came after the franchise won four-straight Stanley Cup titles from 1980-83, establishing the Islanders as one of the greatest dynasties in hockey history.
Last season, the Islanders reached the Eastern Conference Final during the NHL's Return To Play plan in the Edmonton bubble, where they lost to the Lightning in six games. It was the first time New York had reached the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 1993.
Game 7 in Tampa Bay is set for 8 p.m. ET on Friday.
The winner of Friday's contest will move on to the Stanley Cup Final, where they will face the winner of the series between the Montreal Canadiens and Vegas Golden Knights. Montreal currently leads the series, 3-2, with a chance to punch their ticket to the Final for the first time since 1993 on Thursday night on home ice.