UBS Keys to the Game: Islanders vs Lightning

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (28-26-9) VS TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (40-18-6)2:00 PM ET | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETSWATCH: TNT LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 970AM
The New York Islanders wrap up a back-to-back set on Sunday afternoon when they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning at 2 p.m. at UBS Arena.
The Islanders are looking to bounce back after a 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon. While the lopsided loss to the Bruins snapped the Islanders two-game winning streak, they enter Sunday's game with a six-game home winning streak. A win at UBS Arena on Sunday would match their longest home winning streak in 32 years.

The Lightning also enter Sunday's game on the back half of a back-to-back set. Tampa staged a late comeback in a 2-1 OT win over the Detroit Red Wings. Steven Stamkos scored a power-play goal with 4:38 in the third period to tie the score 1-1, while Brayden Point scored the OT winner on the man advantage at 2:32 of the extra frame. The win snapped Tampa's three-game losing streak.
This marks the second meeting of the season between the teams. The Lightning won the first meeting 4-1 on Nov. 15, 2021. This marks the Lightning's first visit to UBS Arena and first trip to Long Island since Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Semifinal last season.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Brock Nelson scored his 30th goal of the season on Saturday, hitting the 30-goal mark for the first time in his NHL career. Nelson is one of the hottest players in the NHL at the moment, with 17 points (11G, 6A) in his last 13 games. Since Feb. 17, Nelson's 15 goals are tied for the NHL lead with Toronto's Auston Matthews.
  "I think it's great, I know it comes in a loss today, but that's a combination of a lot of his work and his effort he's put into his game," Anders Lee said of Nelson. "You can just see how much he's progressed over time and the player he's become. He's an all-around player. I mean, top to bottom. He can make plays, and he's proving now how good of a goal scorer he's been in his career and to hit this accomplishment. It's awesome. We're all super pumped for him. It's just great to see. It's well deserved."
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  - Lee scored his 25th goal of the season on Saturday, reaching the 25-goal mark for the fifth time in his career and the first time since 2018-19. Like Nelson, Lee has been one of the hottest players in the league, with 17 points (11G, 6A) in his last 11 games. More recently, Lee has seven points (2G, 5A) in his last three games.
  - Lee and Nelson are the first Islanders teammates to have 11 goals in the same month, since Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy accomplished the feat in January 1986. Per Eric Hornick, if either player can score in the final three games of March, they would become the first Islander since Zigmund Palffy (13 in March 1996) to score at least 12 goals in any month.
  - With Saturday's loss, the Islanders dropped to 7-5-1 in the front half of back-to-back sets. The Islanders are 4-7-1 in the back half of back-to-backs this season. The Islanders will play a back-to-back every week for the remainder of the regular season.
  - Ilya Sorokin is expected to start on Sunday, as Semyon Varlamov tended goal against the Bruins on Saturday. Sorokin is 8-2-2 in his last 12 games with a 1.47 GAA, a .946 SV% and two shutouts over that span. Sorokin has never started a game against the Bolts, but has seen Tampa twice in relief appearances in last year's playoffs. Sorokin is 12-3-3 at UBS Arena. His 1.82 GAA is the lowest of any goalie who has played at least ten home games.
  - The Islanders power play went 2-for-4 against the Bruins and is now 3-for-5 over the Islanders' last two games. The Islanders are 11-for-30 (36.7% since March 5. At home, the Islanders power play has been especially good. Since Feb. 1, the Islanders power play is second in the NHL at home, converting at 36.7% (11-for-30).
  - The Islanders will wear their third jerseys for Sunday's game.

LIGHTNING NOTES:

• With the OT win, Tampa (86 points) leapfrogged the Toronto Maple Leafs (85 points) for third place in the Atlantic Division. Tampa is one point back of the Boston Bruins (87 points) with a game in hand.
  - The Lightning have stumbled a bit of late, going 4-6-0 in their last 10 games, which includes two separate three-game losing streaks.
  - Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to start in goal for the Lightning after Brian Elliott played on Saturday. Vasilevskiy is 32-14-4 with a 2.39 GAA, a .920 SV% and two shutouts. Vasilevskiy has lost three straight starts.
  - Steven Stamkos leads the Lightning in goals (29) and points (69) and is second on the team in assists (40). Stamkos had a goal and an assist vs the Red Wings and now has six points (2G, 4A) in his last five games. Stamkos won 17-of-22 faceoffs on Saturday.
  - Victor Hedman is fourth among NHL defensemen with 62 points (17G, 45A) this season. Hedman's 62 points are his most since the 2017-18 season, when he recorded 63. Hedman is one goal shy of establishing a new career-high.
  - Tampa Bay acquired Nick Paul from the Ottawa Senators on March 20 for Mathieu Joseph and a 2024 fourth-round pick. Paul has one goal in three games since joining the Lightning, skating on a line with Ross Colton and Anthony Cirelli.