Estimated read time: Less than a minute
TAMPA, Fla. — Experience tells the Tampa Bay Lightning it's time to go to work — not panic. The New York Islanders are also down 2-0 after playing well at times and losing their first two games of the NHL playoffs on the road. Both teams understand it'll take a lot more than a return to home ice Thursday night to alter the course of first-round matchups between the Lightning and Florida Panthers and Islanders and Carolina Panthers. New York blew a three-goal lead in its Game 2 loss to the Hurricanes. Tampa Bay dropped a pair of one-goal games to the Panthers to fall behind 2-0 in a series for the first time since losing Games 1 and 2 of the 2020 Eastern Conference on the road. The Lightning rallied to win that series against the New York Rangers.