Tampa Bay managed to retain its key pieces in the offseason, signing Steven Stamkos to an eight-year deal and recently inking Nikita Kucherov to a three-year contract, so they're largely returning the same squad that went to the Eastern Conference Finals last year and the Stanley Cup Finals a year before.
"This will be a real challenge and a good test for us," head coach Jack Capuano said. "They have a lot of firepower, they have some guys on the back end who we know what they can do and they're quick, they're fast. This is going to be a game where we have to play structured, we have to defend well and be on the right side of the puck."
Stamkos leads the Bolts with 10 points (6G, 4A) and is tied with Alex Killorn for the team-lead in goals. The Lightning are 5-4-0 to start the season, but have lost three straight, most recently 6-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Sunday.
The Islanders enter Tuesday's contest on the heels of a 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Five different Islanders had multi-point games in Sunday's win, including Nelson, who now leads the team with nine points (3G, 6A) in nine games.