Brian Boyle was part of the fight before Game 3 even started ... and then he ended it in overtime.
In a Tampa Bay Lightning win in which they just kept rolling with the New York Islanders’ punches, it only seems fitting that Boyle battled to land a big hit and then score the clinching goal for a 5-4 overtime victory.
This gives the Lightning a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4.
Also fitting? Boyle landed a big hit on Thomas Hickey, the guy who sidelined Jonathan Drouin for a chunk of this contest.
That sequence prompted a brief goal review, but it ultimately stood:
(Was that Boyle hit on Hickey dirty, by the way?)
Drama was in the air from the beginning, yet Drouin really stole the show when he came back from what some believe was a concussion to assist on Nikita Kucherov’s last-minute goal, which sent the game to overtime.
Other than putting an icebag over his nose, Jonathan Drouin seemed fine post-game. "He's a warrior," goalie Ben Bishop said.
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) May 4, 2016
In some ways, this win feels like a microcosm of the Lightning’s season. They keep getting hit in the mouth with injuries and near-injuries, yet they just won’t stay down.
#TBLightning Boyle: "We took some lumps tonight but we kept coming and coming. We believe in each other."
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) May 4, 2016
The Islanders saw three leads disappear in this contest, but one would think that they won’t roll over, either.