Lightning Lose to The Islanders 2-1
The Lightning of Tampa Bay have won seven games in a row; however, they lost to a beleaguered Islanders team tonight, 2-1. The Lightning were a tough match-up for the Islanders, who lack toughness and have a couple of important injuries. The Islanders, after a good road trip, are not defending their home at UBS Arena. They needed to win the home games, but have won only one of the first five at home, and now they face difficult teams in the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Colorado Avalanche. Do you think the Islanders will make a trade?
Lightning Lose to the Islanders 2-1
The New York Islanders hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday evening at UBS Arena. After a very slow start, which had people questioning what was wrong with them, they have now won seven games in a row, appear unbeatable, and are in first place in the Atlantic Division. Here is a scoring summary of the most recent Islanders home loss.
In the first period, there were no goals. In the second period, the Islanders took a 1-0 lead when Bo Horvat scored again. He now has sixteen goals.In the third period, Anthony Duclair scored for the Islanders as they took a 2-0 lead. Then Dominic James scored for the Lightning to cut the Islanders’ lead to 2-1.
Home Sweet Home?
The New York Islanders are 8-4-1 on the road and only 5-6-2 at home so far this season, coming into this game. That is the reverse of what we would expect. Head Coach Patrick Roy insists that his team plays the same way at home and on the road. The Islanders have outshot opponents 170-94 in their last five home games, but have a record of 1-3-1 over that span and have been outscored 9-6.
Most of their shots have been low-quality and not high-danger chances. Roy said, “I feel like we play pretty much the same way. We might give more shots on the road than at home, but other than this, we are playing the same style of hockey. Does the puck bounce our way a little more on the road, yes. Maybe a little more. But we are playing really well defensively.”
News and Notes
- Bo Horvat extended his team lead to fifteen goals with a power-play goal in Sunday’s contest. He is the only Islander who is scoring. He has been outstanding this season. He had another goal in this game.
- Tony DeAngelo was ill and missed the morning skate today, but he was in the starting lineup for the Islanders.
- Matthew Schaefer recorded another assist on Sunday for his nineteenth point of the season, ranking second on the Islanders. The 2025 first-overall pick of the Islanders leads all rookies with eight goals, which also ranks fourth among NHL defensemen.
- The Islanders were so offensively challenged, they made Washington’s goaltender, Logan Thompson, look like the greatest goaltender ever.
- The Islanders went 1-2-0 in the season series against the Lightning last season, with DeAngelo scoring the overtime winner in a 3-2 OT victory on the road on Feb. 1.
- Lightning coach John Cooper is the longest tenured coach in the National Hockey League. He will be the coach of Team Canada in the Milan Olympics.
- Ilya Sorokin got the start for the Islanders. He needed to play very well if the Islanders were going to be close in this game as they are not scoring. He did play well.
Conclusion
The Islanders had a power play in the first period that pretty much summed up how this game would go. The Islanders barely touched the puck, and the Lightning, who have the number two-ranked penalty kill in the League, dominated play. Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made a key save. It was scary to see the big goaltender do so well in the first period. It does not get any easier for the Islanders, who face the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.
