How to watch Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New York Islanders NHL Conference Finals online

The Islanders successfully shutout the Flyers to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Lightning, but fell to them in game one. The NHL playoffs resume for the two teams on Wednesday, September 9. The best of seven series will go through September 19 if necessary, but at least through Sunday if Tampa Bay makes quick work of New York.

The Lightning are ranked second and have performed well this season. The team's first game saw them scoring in each of the three periods. They should be able to keep the pressure on the Islanders to step up their offense for the remaining games if New York has any hope of advancing.

Brayden Point has been dangerous on the ice. He made quick work scoring in game one and along with Nikita Kucherov is a real threat. On New York's side, Thomas Greiss needs to keep up with Tampa Bay and go longer into the next several games than he did in the first one. So far, it has been the Lightning shooting sparks while the Islanders play catch up.

Lightning vs. Islanders: Where and when?

The puck drops on the second Eastern Conference finals game on Wednesday, September 9, at 8:00 PM ET. The subsequent games follow every other day until one team takes four. No fans will be in attendance for the playoff match at Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB so there shouldn't be any fear of missing out on the electric energy flowing from the rink during a normal year. Luckily, the Eastern Conference finals is easy enough to catch online.

How to watch Lightning vs. Islanders playoffs from anywhere

If you're outside of a NBC Sports coverage area or are having other issues accessing the NHL playoffs, then one of the best VPNs (Virtual Private Network) can really come in handy. They allow you to virtually change the IP address of your laptop, tablet or mobile to one that's back in your home country which will let you watch as if you were back there.

VPNs are incredibly easy to use and have the added benefit of providing you with an additional layer of security when surfing the web. There are also a lot of options but we recommend ExpressVPN as our top pick due to its speed, security and ease of use. The service can even be used on a wide array of operating systems and devices (e.g. iOS, Android, Smart TVs, Fire TV Stick, Roku, game consoles, etc). Sign up for ExpressVPN now and enjoy a 49% discount and 3 months FREE with an annual subscription. You can even test it out for yourself thanks to the service's 30-day money back guarantee. Looking for more options?

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How to watch Lightning vs. Islanders live stream in the U.S.

There are two main ways to catch all the action for the Eastern Conference finals, including NHL.TV and NBC Sports. The first is likely the most convenient as long as you're not inside a local blackout area. To watch all of the Stanley Playoff games, NHL.TV will only cost $9.99.

On the NBC side, you may be able to watch for free, though you will need to authenticate with a cable, satellite, or live streaming tv subscription that includes NBCSN. Our top pick would be Sling, as it's the most affordable and offers a great channel selection to help you keep up on all your favorite sport teams.