Which way the series would turn in Thursday night’s Game 3 at Nassau Coliseum was the great unknown.
But one thing seemed certain: Both the Islanders and Lightning will continue to try and gain the upper hand in the physical battle as this chippy NHL semifinal unfolds.
"We’re comfortable in these games, that’s the type of style we play," Jordan Eberle said. "You want to have that hard, physical forecheck and you want to have that in-your-face type of mentality. So, the harder it gets we find that we enjoy that. That’s playoff hockey. That’s what makes it exciting and we want to continue to play that way.