Game Preview: Islanders at Lightning

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (16-8-2) AT TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (18-6-2)
7:30 P.M., AMALIE ARENA
TV: MSG+2, MSG GO
RADIO: 88.7FM, 103.9FM, AM970
Fresh off a 5-4 shootout win over the Florida Panthers on Monday, the New York Islanders continue their four-game road trip against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night (7:30 p.m., MSG+2, MSG GO).
The win has the Islanders tied with the New Jersey Devils for second in the ultra-tight Metropolitan Division and one point back of the Columbus Blue Jackets for first place. New Jersey and Columbus go head-to-head on Tuesday.

This is the second meeting between the Islanders and Lightning this season, as the Isles scored a 5-3 win over the Lightning on Nov. 18, taking down the NHL's top team at the time.
Tuesday's rematch is likely to be a high-scoring affair, as it pits the two highest-scoring teams against each other. The Islanders lead the NHL with 3.73 goals-per-game, while the Lightning are second averaging 3.62 goals-per-game. The Isles have scored 43 goals in their last 10 games since being shut out by the Dallas Stars.

LINEUP NOTES:

Thomas Greiss is the likely starter, as head coach Doug Weight usually splits his goalies on back-to-back sets. If he starts, Greiss will be looking to bounce back from allowing five goals and getting pulled halfway through Friday's loss to Ottawa. Greiss had won his previous five starts before playing to a no-decision against the Senators.

BY THE NUMBERS:

100 - career goals for Anders Lee. The Islanders forward scored his 100th NHL goal against the Panthers and extended his scoring streak to four games. Lee has 16 goals this season, fourth in the NHL behind Alex Ovechkin (20), Nikita Kucherov (18) and Isles captain John Tavares (17).
5 - goals-per-game. The Islanders have scored five or more goals - including shootout winners - 13 times in 26 games this season. Last season, the Islanders scored five or more goals 10 times over a full 82 game season.
6th - all-time in Islanders scoring.John Tavares claimed sole possession of sixth on the Islanders all-time leaderboard with a goal on Monday, breaking a tie with Pat LaFontaine. The Isles captain is 43 points behind Brent Sutter for fifth in the team's record books.

THE OPPOSITION:

The Lightning were a blistering 15-2-2 heading into their first meeting with the Islanders. Including their loss to the Isles, the Bolts have gone 3-4-0 over their past seven games, though they still lead the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference with 38 points.
Kucherov leads the Lightning in goals (19) and points (38) and has four points (2G, 2A) in his last three games. Linemates Steven Stamkos (37 points) and Vladislav Namestnikov (23 points) are second and third in team scoring.
The Islanders held the Lightning's top line off the score sheet in their first meeting.
Andrei Vasilevskiy still leads NHL goalies with 17 wins this season and his .932 save percentage is tops among netminders with at least 10 starts. The Isles scored four goals on 31 shots against Vasilevskiy earlier this season.