Tampa Bay Lightning Fall To New York Islanders 3-2

The Lightning are a good team on a bit of an injury-induced slide. This was the third time the Islanders played the Lightning in 12 days. It is difficult to beat a team three times in two weeks, but the Islanders won 3-2.

There was a bunch of Islanders news coming into this game against the Lightning. First, Pat LaFontaine was inducted before the game into the Islanders Hall of Fame. Second, Islanders star Bo Horvat, who leads the team with 19 goals, was injured. Third, Jonathan Drouin returned to the lineup against the Lightning after missing five games. Do you think the Islanders can withstand a long-term injury to Horvat?

Scoring Summary Of Lightning-Islanders

The Lightning won their second straight game on Thursday by defeating the New Jersey Devils 8-4. Oliver Bjorkstrand had two goals, while Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point, Darren Raddysh, Nick Paul, and Pontus Holmberg scored as well. Jonas Johansson made 33 saves on 37 shots faced. Here is a scoring summary from the game.

In the first period, Matthew Schaefer scored while the Islanders were on a four-on-three advantage. The Islanders led 1-0. Then, Cal Ritchie scored for the Islanders, and they led 2-0. That is how the first period ended.

In the second period, Darren Raddysh scored the only goal of the period. That goal cut the Islanders’ lead to 2-1. That is how the period ended. However, it is worth noting that the Lightning badly outshot the Islanders in this period. The Islanders would be trailing were it not for Islander Goaltender Ilya Sorokin.

In the third period, J.J. Moser scored to tie the game at two. That is how the third period ended. Nobody scored in overtime, despite the fact that the overtime period was exciting.  In the Shootout, Emil Heineman won it for the Islanders, who are now in first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Pat LaFontaine was Inducted Into the Islanders Hall of Fame

LaFontaine was the 17th player inducted into the Islander Hall of Fame at UBS Arena. He scored 566 points (287G, 279A) in 530 games played with the Islanders. He is ranked ninth on the Islanders’ all-time point list. He reached that total before he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in a salary dump.

The Islanders legend also played six seasons with the Buffalo Sabres and his final season with the New York Rangers. He was forced to retire due to recurrent concussions. LaFontaine finished his 15-year career with 1,013 points (468G, 545A) in 865 games played and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003. He is the 11th highest-scoring American of all time.

Drouin Returns

Drouin participated in the team’s skate for the second straight day on Friday and made a return to the lineup against the Lightning. Drouin missed five straight games with a lower-body injury and said he felt good after Friday’s optional practice.

“I’ll be ready to go tomorrow,” Drouin said. Islanders Head Coach Patrick Roy confirmed that Drouin will play on Saturday and said he will start the game teamed up with Barzal and Heineman. Drouin is a key playmaker who has 15 points and is averaging 18:14 time on ice per game. He has appeared in 26 games this season.

Horvat Is Hurt

Horvat is officially listed as day-to-day. The lower-body injury occurred when Horvat tangled his skates with Anaheim’s Drew Helleson and fell to the ice awkwardly. “He’s still day-to-day,” Roy said. “We’ll see how it goes.” Horvat missed the game against the Lightning.

Information about the injury has been slow to come out. Hockey teams are notorious for not giving out robust information about injuries. The Islanders can ill-afford an injury to their star. Horvat tangled his skates with Anaheim’s Drew Helleson and fell to the ice awkwardly. Horvat leads the Islanders with 31 points. His 19 goals are tied with the Chicago Blackhawks‘ Connor Bedard for the fourth most in the National Hockey League this season.

News and Notes

• The Islanders went 2-for-4 on the power play against the Anaheim Ducks. Anders Lee scored both power-play goals for the Islanders against the Ducks.
• The Islanders killed the lone penalty they faced against the Ducks on Thursday night. The penalty kill thus improved to 14-for-14 in the month of December. The Islanders and Dallas Stars are still the only two teams not to allow a power-play goal this month.
• The Islanders are now 3-0-0 against the Lightning this season, posting a 2-0 win on December 6 and a 2-1 victory on December 2. The Islanders swept the season series over the Lightning on Saturday.
• The Lightning have the second-best penalty kill percentage in the National Hockey League at 85.9%.
• On the power play, the Lightning rank 22nd in the National Hockey League at 17.9%. However, they scored on two of their three power play opportunities on Thursday night.
• Tampa Bay is 10-4-2 on the road this season, including 2-2-0 in December.

Conclusion

It was good to see that LaFontaine got inducted into the Islanders Hall of Fame before this game. It is about time. This game against the Lightning wrapped up the Islanders’ mini three-game homestand. They got surprising wins against both the Ducks and the Golden Knights. They head to Detroit and next play against the Red Wings on Tuesday night.