Game Preview: Islanders at Lightning

The New York Islanders head down south to play the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second time in three games on Saturday night. This is the first of a back-to-back set in Florida this weekend.

The Islanders are coming off a 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night at UBS Arena, ending Colorado’s 17-game point streak and handing them just their second regulation loss of the season. New York opened the game with four straight goals from Kyle MacLean, Anders Lee, Bo Horvat and Adam Pelech.

“We scored those goals, moving the puck well offensively and the four lines were outstanding,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said after the game.

Ilya Sorokin was between the pipes for the third straight game. He stopped 35 of the 38 shots he faced.

“When we gave those scoring chances, Ilya made those saves,” Roy said.

Thursday night’s victory was the 200th of Roy’s head coaching career. The Islanders finished the season-long seven-game homestand 3-3-1.

DROUIN DAY-TO-DAY WITH A LOWER BODY INJURY

Jonathan Drouin (lower-body injury) is considered day-to-day as the team announced he was a late scratch before warmups. However, Roy mentioned that Drouin will still travel with the team for the back-to-back set.

SHARING THE WEALTH

New York had 10 different players record a point on Thursday night.

Over the seven-game home stretch, 16 different players, 12 forwards and four defensemen tallied at least one point. Matthew Barzal and Matthew Schaefer led the team with five points each since Nov. 22.

SCHAEFER SENSATIONS CONTINUE

The Islanders’ standout rookie notched his 20th point in 28 games played on Thursday night, making him the second fastest 18-year-old defenseman to eclipse 20 career points in league history. Phil Housley achieved the feat with the Buffalo Sabres in 25 games in 1982.

SPECIAL TEAM SUCCESS

The Islanders’ power play scored for the third time in their last four games, as Barzal danced around several defenders and lifted a backhand into the net for a highlight reel goal. It was the first man-advantage goal in seven opportunities.

The Islanders penalty kill was perfect for the second straight night on Thursday, going 7-for-7 over those two games.

New York owns the eighth best penalty kill percentage in the NHL (82.9%).

SEASON SERIES

The Islanders are 1-0-0 against the Lightning this season, posting a 2-1 win on Tuesday night.

This is the second of three matchups between these two Eastern Conference teams. The third and final game of the season series will be on Dec. 13 at UBS Arena.

LIGHTNING NOTES

Tampa Bay dropped their second straight game to start December, losing 4-3 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on home ice. Brandon Hagel (2G) and Nikita Kucherov scored for the Lightning in the loss, while Jonas Johansson turned aside 27 of 31 shots faced.

Hagel’s two goal frame marked his eighth multi-goal period for the Lightning, the seventh most in the franchise’s history. Hagel also has five multi-goal games this season, tying him with Montreal’s Cole Caufield for the second most this season and behind only Nathan MacKinnon (7).

Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevsky (day-to-day) was not in the lineup on Thursday night. Tampa Bay Head Coach Jon Cooper expects him to play against the Islanders.

Jonas Johansson started on Thursday night for the Lightning, making 27 saves in the loss. That was the eighth game Johansson has started and the ninth he has played this season. He is 5-3-0 with a 3.06 GAA and .892 SV% in that stretch.

The Lightning and defenseman Ryan McDonagh agreed on a three-year extension on Thursday. McDonagh (undisclosed) has been on IR and played in 15 games this season. He has totaled six points (3G, 3A).

Tampa Bay owns the top penalty kill percentage in the NHL at 87.4%, though they allowed a pair pf power-play goals in Thursday’s loss to the Pens.

On the power play, the Lightning rank 24th in the NHL (16.3%).

The Lightning are one of the top teams when they are in front this season. They stormed on to win 10 games when leading after the first period, only behind the Capitals (12) in the NHL.

Tampa Bay is 8-6-0 on home ice, including 4-1-0 in their last five.