Game Preview: Islanders vs Lightning

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (18-11-3) VS TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (18-11-2)

3:30 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

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The New York Islanders will host the Tampa Bay Lightning for the final game of their three-game homestand. This will be the third time in 12 days that the Islanders and Lighting face each other.

The Islanders are coming off a 5-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night. Anders Lee led the way with a four-point game (2G, 2A), while David Rittich stopped 31 of the 33 shots in the win as the Isles opened up a 3-0 lead in the first period en route to the win.

“It was a solid team effort from the start to the end,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said.

The Islanders have won five of their last six games, including four straight home wins.

LAFONTAINE’S LEGACY

Pat LaFontaine will be the 17th player inducted into the Islander Hall of Fame at UBS Arena before the team’s game against the Lightning.

LaFontaine tallied 566 points (287G, 279A) in 530 games played with the Islanders. He is ranked ninth on the Islanders’ all-time point list.

The Islanders Hall of Famer also played six seasons with the Buffalo Sabres and his final season with the New York Rangers. He 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.

BO HORVAT MISSES OPTIONAL FRIDAY SKATE

Bo Horvat (day-to-day, lower-body) was not on the ice for the Islanders’ optional practice on Friday.

"He’s still day-to-day,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Horvat suffered a lower-body injury in the second period and didn’t return in the 5-2 win over the Ducks on Thursday night. Horvat tangled his skates with Anaheim’s Drew Helleson and fell to the ice awkwardly.

Horvat leads the Islanders with 31 points (19G, 12A). His 19 goals are tied with Chicago’s Connor Bedard for the fourth most in the NHL this season.

DROUIN TO RETURN SATURDAY VS LIGHTNING

Jonathan Drouin was present at the team’s skate for the second straight day on Friday and is expected to make a return 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.

Roy confirmed that Drouin will play on Saturday and said he’ll start the game teamed up with Barzal and Emil Heineman.

Drouin has 15 points (3G, 12A) and is averaging 18:14 TOI/G in 26 games played this season.

A POWERFUL POWER-PLAY

The Isles went 2-for-4 on the man advantage against the Ducks. Lee scored both power-play goals right at the net. His first power-play tally of the night was his 296th career goal, moving him beyond Brock Nelson for the fifth most goals in Islanders’ history. His second of the night was his 81st career power-play goal, and the eighth most in Islanders history.

New York has netted a power-play goal in four of their last five games (5-for-14). The Islanders’ power-play ranks 11th in the NHL (29.4%) in the month of December.

PENALTY KILLING REMAIN PERFECT

The Islanders killed the lone penalty they faced against the Ducks on Thursday night.

The PK improves to 14-for-14 in the month of December. The Isles and Dallas Stars are still the only two teams to not allow a power-play goal this month.

New York owns the fifth best penalty kill percentage in the NHL at 84.4%.

SEASON SERIES

The Islanders are 2-0-0 against the Lightning this season, posting a 2-0 win on Dec. 6 and a 2-1 victory on Dec. 2.

The Islanders will look to sweep the season series over the Lightning on Saturday.

LIGHTNING NOTES

Tampa Bay won their second straight game on Thursday, defeating the New Jersey Devils 8-4. Oliver Bjorkstrand (2G) netted a pair of goals while Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point, Darren Raddysh, Nick Paul and Pontus Holmberg all found the back of the net. Jonas Johansson made 33 saves on 37 shots faced.

Nikita Kucherov notched four assists in the 8-4 win. Kucherov now has seven four-assist games in his career and 34th career four-point game. Only Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid have more four-point games amongst active NHL players.

Andrei Vasilevskiy (undisclosed) was placed on IR on Monday. Vasilevskiy hasn’t played since the Lightning’s 2-1 loss to the Islanders on Dec. 2. He is 11-6-2 with a 2.31 GAA, .917 SV% and one shutout this season. Vasilevskiy practiced with the team on Friday, but he will not play as his IR designation means he has to sit out at least seven days.

Jonas Johansson has been carrying the bulk of the workload with Vasilevskiy out, as he has started in five consecutive games for the Lightning. He is 2-3-0 with a 2.26 GAA and .920 SV% in that stretch. Johansson is 1-4-0 with a 3.86 GAA and .877 SV% against the Islanders in his career.

Victor Hedman was placed back on IR on Thursday and is expected to be out until early February, right ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics. Hedman missed nearly a month with injury until he returned to action on Dec. 6 against the Isles. He played in three straight games before returning to IR.

Dominic James is listed as day-to-day. James scored the only Tampa Bay goal in their two clashes with the Islanders. The rookie has five points (2G, 3A) in 19 games this season.

Tampa Bay owns the second-best penalty kill percentage in the NHL at 85.9%.

On the power play, the Lightning rank 22nd in the NHL (17.9%), however, they capitalized on two of their three man-advantage opportunities on Thursday night.

Tampa Bay is 10-4-2 on the road this season, including 2-2-0 in December.