Tampa, Florida – The New York Islanders beat the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday to take the first game of the Stanley Cup semifinals.

The Isles have now won four straight playoff games with a hard-fought 2-1 road victory to take a 1-0 lead in their series against the Lightning. Both teams were locked in a close one through most of the game, but the defending champions couldn’t pull things together in time as the Islanders played like the better team.

Semyon Varlamov (33) was dominant in net for New York as he stopped 30 shots and was only 54 seconds away from earning his fifth career playoff shutout, if not for a goal by Brayden Point. At this point in the playoffs, though, shutouts take a back seat to wins, as the Islanders need three more against Tampa to complete their revenge against the team that eliminated them last year.

College Football Reggie Bush Heisman controversy takes new turn amid big shift in college sports

With two teams like these, any slip-ups on the ice can mean danger for the guilty party. Tampa, unfortunately, played that part in giving the puck away seven times during the game, all for offensive chances for the Isles. New York did cash in on one of those mistakes with their first goal, scored by Mathew Barzal midway through the second period. That was enough to tip the game’s momentum in the Isles’ favor, opening the door for an insurance goal by Ryan Pulock in the third.

Both squads seemed evenly matched, with total shots on goal and hits being even in the game, but it was the giveaways that killed many chances for Lightning to really strike.

Any hockey expert will tell you that when passes aren’t connecting and penalties are committed, that a team likely isn’t focused well enough to succeed. The Islanders did just enough to not give the Lightning any advantages and played disciplined hockey to earn their game one win.

"We weren't using our heads like we normally do tonight… We just made too many mistakes. Our minds weren’t there," said Tampa Head Coach Jon Cooper in his postgame comments to ESPN.

Game two between these two teams is on Tuesday night, back in Tampa.