UBS Keys to the Game: Islanders vs Lightning

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (37-34-10) VS TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (50-23-8)7:30 PM ET | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS WATCH: MSG+2 | MSG GO | ESPN+LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 970AM
The New York Islanders are looking to win their final matchup of the season as they host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday at UBS Arena.
The Islanders are coming off a 5-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Thursday, sweeping a home-and-home set with the Caps. The Islanders offense bulldozed the Capitals with two first period goals from Brock Nelson and Anders Lee, and third period goals from JG Pageau, Kyle Palmieri and Josh Bailey. The Capitals spoiled a shutout for Semyon Varlamov, as Axel Jonsson Fjallby found the back of the net with 42 seconds left in the game. Varlamov made 26 saves on 27 shots, while picking up his first win since Apr. 1.

The Lightning fell 5-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night, failing to clinch third in the Atlantic Division as a result. Nikita Kucherov and Corey Perry put up goals for Tampa Bay, but the effort wasn't enough to combat the Blue Jacket's five goal display. Brian Elliot stopped 30-of-34 in the loss.
The Islanders trail 2-0 in the season series against the Lightning. Mathew Barzal scored the lone goal in the 4-1 loss on Nov. 15. In their most recent meeting, the Islanders also fell 4-1 on Mar. 27, with Brock Nelson netting the only goal for the Islanders.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• The Islanders special teams are red hot. After going 5-for-7 on the power play against the Capitals, the Isles are 9-for-18 on the power play (50.0%) in their last seven games, leading the NHL on the power play since Apr. 17. In that span, the Lightning rank second in the league on the power play (46.2%).
• The Islanders penalty kill went a perfect 6-for-6 on Thursday night, as they maintain fourth on the penalty kill in the NHL (84.6%). The Isles were 10-for-10 on the PK with a shorthanded goal in the the home-and-home vs Washington.
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• With Semyon Varlamov's outing on Thursday, Ilya Sorokin is expected to be in between the pipes for the Islanders on Friday. Sorokin (26-17-8) holds the second-best save percentage in the NHL (.927%). In his 51 starts this season, the Russian netminder has a 2.35 GAA and has recorded seven shutouts on the season.
• Mathew Barzal leads the team in assists (43) and now has 10 points in his last nine games (1G, 9A). His three-point performance on Thursday was his second of the season.
• Noah Dobson (13G, 37A) became the 19th defenseman in the NHL to reach the 50-point mark this season, tallying two assists in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Capitals. In his last six outings, Dobson put up eight points (2G, 6A).
"Fifty points is a valuable equity in today's game because it's so hard to score as it is, you need that support and that secondary scoring and the D are a big part of that," Head Coach Barry Trotz said of Dobson. "[Thursday] was a perfect game for me because he let the game come to him. He was good on both sides of the puck and he still produced. There's some games where he's gotten points but he's forced the issue and you know, he's just trading chances and today, he controlled the game by letting the game come to him."
• Brock Nelson and Zdeno Chara returned to action after missing Tuesday's game with non-COVID illnesses, while Ryan Pulock and Ross Johnston missed Thursday's game with the same ailment. Anthony Beauvillier returned after missing four games with an upper-body injury.

LIGHTNING NOTES:

• The Lightning (108 points) sit in third place in the Atlantic Division, and are currently slated to face the Toronto Maple Leafs (113 points) in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Boston Bruins (107 points) have the opportunity to leapfrog Tampa Bay in the standings with a Bruins victory and a Lightning loss on Friday.
• The Lightning hold a record of 9-0-2 in the second half of back-to-back sets this season.
• Andrei Vasilevskiy (38-18-5) is expected to start for Tampa Bay against the Islanders on Friday, looking for his fourth straight win. The Russian goaltender is second in the NHL in wins, while posting a 2.46 GAA and a .917 SV%.
• Victor Hedman is riding an eight-game point streak (1G, 15A), ranking third in the NHL in points among defensemen (84).
• Nikita Kucherov scored in eight straight games (10G, 11A) and is on his longest point streak of the season.
• With two assists on Thursday night, Steven Stamkos tied Vincent Lecavalier for longest streak of multi-point games in franchise history. The captain has 23 points (7G, 16A) over his last eight games. He broke triple digits on the season (101 points) in a career-high total.
• The Bolts went 2-for-7 on the power play in Thursday's loss to Columbus, continuing a seven-game stretch of scoring at least one goal with the man advantage. The Lightning have capitalized on 13-of-29 opportunities in that time frame.