Game Preview: Islanders at Lightning

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (5-4-2) AT TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (7-3-3)
7 PM | AMALIE ARENA
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The New York Islanders meet the Tampa Bay Lightning for the first time since Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals when the teams convene at Amalie Arena on Monday night.
The Islanders lost Game 7 1-0, marking the second time in as many seasons the Isles fell to the eventual champion Lightning in the third round of the playoffs. As heartbreaking as the loss was, the Islanders are focused on the final score, instead of settling scores.

"We're not going to get our revenge tomorrow night by winning a hockey game," Matt Martin said. "We can start to build towards the team we want to be... The focus is Stanley Cup, not winning just one regular season game game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Two points are the priority for the Islanders, who have lost their last two games, including a 4-0 shutout vs the New Jersey Devils. Thursday marked the first time this season the Islanders were shut out, despite putting up a season-high 42 shots. They've had three days to make adjustments in the latest break in their quirky schedule. The Monday-Tuesday back-to-back in Tampa and Florida are the last two games in the team's 13-game road trip.
"It's a big game for us, not so much because of last season," Martin said. "We just need to put our best foot forward and play a strong hockey game. We haven't got the result we've wanted over the past couple games. We have a couple of big games against two really good teams and if we can find a way to win, we've put ourselves in a really good spot at the end of this 13-game road trip."
While the teams have played 13 playoff games in the interim, this is the first regular season meeting of the teams since February 8, 2020 (also in Tampa Bay). The Isles are 3-1-1 in their last five regular season games vs. the Bolts.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Andy Greene could play his 1,000th NHL game on Monday night. Greene is the 20th American defenseman to do so. Greene has 255 points (50G, 205A) in 999 career games, with 1,863 blocked shots.
  ISLES AT LIGHTNING
  ISLANDERS ARTICLES
  Isles Longread: EverGreene
  Greene Approaching 1,000 Game Milestone
  Photos: Andy Greene's Road to 1,000
  Fischler: Broadcast Moments
  ISLANDERS VIDEO
  Trotz Pregame
  Pulock and Pageau Pregame
  GAME EXTRAS
  Talkin' Isles
  Isles STM Reserve List
  Bid on Hockey Fights Cancer Jerseys
  "When you first start off, you worry about your first game and how do you play your second?" Greene said. "You just figure it out from there. You just try to finally establish yourself. Once you do, you're battling to stay in. That's what I've tried to do throughout my whole career. Just scratch and claw and go from there and try to enjoy it along the way."
  Read more about Greene in the Isles Longread: EverGreene
  - Casey Cizikas returned to practice on Sunday after missing Saturday's skate with a non-COVID related illness.
  - Jean-Gabriel Pageau could play in his 500th NHL game
  - Ryan Pulock could appear in his 263rd consecutive game, breaking Denis Potvin's club record for defensemen
  - Matt Martin will play his 624th game as an Islander, moving past Billy Harris into sole possession of 12th on the franchise's all-time games played list.
  - The Isles have allowed eight straight goals since Anders Lee's second period tally in Minnesota.
  - The Islanders are 2-0-0 in the front end of back-to-backs this season and 1-1-0 in the back half.

LIGHTNING NOTES:

• The Lightning are coming off a 3-2 OT win over the first-place Florida Panthers on Saturday night. Brayden Point scored the OT winner for the Lightning. Tampa is riding a seven-game point streak (5-0-2).
  - Steven Stamkos leads the Lightning with 15 points and is tied with Alex Killorn for the team lead in goals (7). Stamkos is tied for 22nd in NHL scoring.
  - Nikita Kucherov (lower body) is currently on long term injured reserve after undergoing a procedure on Oct. 27 that is expected to keep him out for 8-10 weeks. Kucherov had four points (1G, 3A) in three games prior to getting hurt.
  - The Lightning underwent sizable changes in the offseason, losing the line of Blake Coleman (signed with Calgary), Barclay Goodrow (traded to NY Rangers) and Yanni Gourde (expansion draft), as well as Tyler Johnson (traded to Chicago).
  Tampa signed veteran forwards Corey Perry and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare as well as defenseman Zach Bogosian.
  - The Lightning have only allowed four goals in the first period in 13 games this season, a league-low. The Islanders have also only allowed four in the first period in 11 games.