Led by Center John Tavares. who had a goal & two assists, the New York Islanders came into Amalie Arena on Saturday night & beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3. The loss ends Tampa Bay's five game winning streak & is their first regulation loss since October 28th vs Anaheim.
Tampa Bay started the night leading the NHL in points but it didn't take long for New York to jump out on top when Left Wing Andrew Ladd beat Lightning Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy after a Lightning giveaway gift-wrapping the Islanders the 1-0 lead. That goal seemed to open things up with the Islanders number one line led by Center John Tavares putting pressure on the Lightning. But the Lightning also got good scoring chances including one by Center Tyler Johnson, who chose to pass on a point blank scoring opportunity.
The scoring chances continued for both teams midway through the first period but again it was the visitors who made good on their chances when Tavares on a break fed Left WIng Anders Lee, who buried a point blank shot between Vasilevskiy's pads making it 2-0.
After that second New York goal, the Lightning applied some pressure again & this time it forced the Islanders to take a penalty, when Center Brayden Point with a burst got past Islander Left Wing Jason Chimera, forcing Chimera to pick up a slashing penalty. The Lightning power play showed some flashes of the top power play unit but were unable to cut into the two goal lead.
After the first 20 minutes, the Lightning out-shot the Islanders 12-10. And aside from Point chasing down a loose puck in the offensive zone, the second period first five minutes was a lot like the first period with New York getting the better of the chances & Vasilevskiy turning the chances aside. That is until the Islanders took advantage on another Lightning giveaway & this time Brock Nelson finished the scoring chance beating Vasilevskiy high on his blocker side, making it 3-0 New York.
That third New York goal was a temporary wake-up call for the Lightning as their skating picked up & the scoring chances increased but Islander Goalie Thomas Greiss, who made 36 saves in the game, came up big on a few shots. And in the other net, Vasilevskiy was tested but kept the deficit at three.
In that second period, New York out-shot Tampa Bay 14-13, but because a cross-checking penalty with less than a minute left in the second period put the Lightning on the penalty kill to start the third. And New York with a little more than a minute gone in the third period added a power play goal when Lee picked up his second goal of the night.
Now done 4-0, the Lightning answered with two goals 13 seconds apart, first when Right Wing Yanni Gourde broke up any shutout thoughts for Greiss with his fifth goal of the year. Then after the center ice face-off, the puck was sent into the Lightning zone, Point was able to push the puck up & feed Palat who beat Greiss.
With the Lightning looking to cut into the two goal New York lead, the Islanders called a time out & seemed to regroup once play resumed. And with the Islanders now attacking, the Lightning were caught giving the puck away but Vasilevskiy on point blank shots, some back to back, was able to keep the puck out of his net.
Both goalies had to deal with scrambles in front of their net including one scramble where the Lightning nearly cut the deficit when Defenseman Anton Stralman pinched in, attacked the net & got a rebound shot inside the right circle but the puck went through Greiss' pads but dribbled wide of the net.
But sparked by another good play by a defenseman, the Lightning were able to make it a one goal game. With New York trying desperately to clear the puck, Dan Girardi was able to keep the puck inside the blue line & Left Wing Ondrej Palat fed Gourde, who was camped out in front of Greiss. Gourde, with a nifty backhanded move, shot the puck past Greiss for his second of the game, bringing the Lightning within one.
The Lightning pulled Vasilevskiy attempting to get the tying goal but were unable to control the puck even with the extra skater & Tavares added an empty net goal sealing the 5-3 win.
Tampa Bay has a few days off before getting a chance to get back to winning ways when they host the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night at 7:30pm. Coverage begins on 970 WFLA with the Lightning pre-game at 7pm.
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
1. NYI - Ladd - (Tavares, Ho-Sang) - 0:51
2. NYI - Lee - (Tavares, Bailey) - 10:25
2ND PERIOD
1. NYI - Nelson - (Chimera, Pelech) - 7:09
3RD PERIOD
1. NYI - PPG - Lee (2nd) - (Bailey, Barzal) - 1:05
2. TBL - Gourde - (Point, Koekkoek) - 3:13
3. TBL - Palat - (Point, Vasilevskiy) - 3:26
4. TBL - Gourde (2nd) - (Palat) - 16:24
5. NYI - Tavares (Cizikas, Bailey) - 19:38
PENALTY SUMARY
1ST PERIOD
1. NYI - Chimera - (Slashing) - 13:59
2ND PERIOD
1. TBL - Hedman - (Hooking) - 9:45
2. TBL - Namestnikov - (Cross-Checking) - 19:19
3RD PERIOD
NONE