TAMPA — The Islanders came into the season with a striking confidence they would be able to take the next step.

They are one win — Friday night in a winner-take-all Game 7 against the Lightning — from doing that.

After falling in six games to the Lightning in the Eastern Conference finals during last season’s bubble playoffs, the Islanders made it clear from the first day of training camp in January that they were striving to build upon that run.

Forcing Game 7 with a 3-2 overtime win at a raucous Nassau Coliseum Wednesday night, the Isles have, at the very least, been able to exceed last season’s run and pull within one win from qualifying for their first Stanley Cup final since 1984. But without a win Friday, their season will end essentially in the same spot last season’s did.

“We know what is at stake,” defenseman Ryan Pulock said Thursday, an off-day as they traveled back to Tampa Bay. “We are going into a Game 7. Obviously it was a big win last night. You enjoy it for a minute. But today is complete refocus and we are ready to go to work and win one game.”

This is unchartered territory for this team. The franchise hasn’t been in a Game 7 this deep in the playoffs since 1975, when the Islanders rallied from a 3-0 series deficit against the Flyers before falling short, losing 4-1 in Game 7. That was back when pieces of the dynasty were beginning to fall into place, with Clark Gillies in his rookie season while Denis Potvin and Bob Nystrom were just beginning their NHL careers.

For a team that has relied on its experience, the usually poised Islanders — in the playoffs for a third straight season — will have to battle through an unfamiliar situation.

Now that they avoided elimination in Game 6, a Stanley Cup final berth is on the line. And instead of competing in an empty arena as they did in the bubble playoffs, the Isles will have to withstand the challenges that come with playing in a monumental game on the road.

“Our mentality is the same all the time,” winger Cal Clutterbuck said. “I said this earlier in the playoffs. It is about narrowing your window of focus and focusing on what is in front of you. If you get down a couple in a game, what can you really do but be yourself?

“For us, it is just about worrying about what you need to do the next time you jump over the boards.”

The last Game 7 the Isles competed in was in the second round last year against Philadelphia, who stormed back from down three games to one before getting shut out in the series finale. Before that, the Islanders lost in seven games to the Capitals in the first round of the 2014-15 postseason.

Clutterbuck, Josh Bailey, Casey Cizikas, Nick Leddy, Brock Nelson, Matt Martin and Scott Mayfield are the only remaining active players from that roster.

The Lightning, who have not lost two playoff games in a row since 2019, are facing elimination for the first time in the past two seasons. In Game 5 at Amalie Arena on Monday, Tampa Bay manhandled the Islanders 8-0, a beating which could still feel fresh for the visitors.

But the Islanders, coming off their third win of the postseason in which they trailed entering the final period, are a team that prides itself on playing in the moment. The Islanders are fighting to take that next step and put the NHL on notice that they cannot be underestimated anymore.

Oh, and keeping the lights on at Nassau Coliseum for one more series surely brings some added motivation as well.

“We’ve always kind of shown up,” Clutterbuck said. “We’ll continue to show up. It’s kind of what we are. It’s who we are.”