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In January, the Lightning had several games in which they played well enough to bank points but lost in regulation. In this game against the Islanders, the Lightning weren’t as sharp as they’d been in some of those other contests. But thanks to a Nikita Kucherov sixth-attacker goal in the final minute of the third period, they were able to add a point to their standings total.

The Lightning’s best stretch came in the opening 10 minutes. They dictated play and decisively outchanced New York. But as has been in case in so many recent games, they ran into a hot goaltender. Ilya Sorokin denied every Grade-A chance that the Lightning generated during those early minutes and kept the game scoreless.

The Islanders pushed back in the second half of the period and owned more possession, although they didn’t create many good looks.

Early in the second period, the Lightning broke through. It took a perfect deflection from Jake Guentzel to beat Sorokin. Guentzel tipped Darren Raddysh’s center-point shot just inside the post on Sorokin’s stick side at 5:39.

Soon after, however, the Islanders began dominating play. It began with a missed high-stick penalty on New York as the Lightning attempted to clear their defensive zone. Gage Goncalves was on the receiving end of the high stick and lost the puck in the process. The Islanders kept the puck in the offensive zone for an extended shift. It didn’t result in a goal but gave New York a momentum boost. The Isles maintained a five-on-five advantage for the rest of the frame. The Lightning did receive two power-play chances in the second half of the period (in addition to one they carried into the second). They were unable to convert despite recording six shots during the three opportunities.

Less than a minute after the third power play ended, the Lightning allowed the tying goal. The play started with a bad break. Erik Cernak fell as he attempted to defend Mat Barzal. Barzal’s skates clipped Cernak’s, but no penalty was called. With Cernak momentarily out of the play, Barzal had a breakaway. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped the attempt, but the Lightning never picked up the trailing Adam Boqvist. Boqvist scored on the rebound at 18:16.

At 4:36 of the third, the Islanders received a power play. The Lightning killed off the penalty but yielded a goal five seconds after it ended. They lost coverage on Kyle Palmieri, who came off the bench and got open at the right circle. He finished an uncontested shot at 6:41.

The Islanders effectively protected their one-goal lead until the final minutes. Raddysh had a point shot on net with just under three minutes left in the third. Sorokin made the save, and there was a whistle. At that point, the Lightning pulled Vasilevskiy for an extra attacker. The Raddysh shot was only the Lightning’s fourth SOG in the period. During the six-on-five, however, the Lightning created several good looks. They posted five shots on net and finally converted at 19:13. Kucherov’s right-circle shot deflected off J.G. Pageau and past Sorokin on the glove side.

The Isles won the game just :33 into overtime. Once more, the Lightning suffered a lapse in coverage. They attempted to complete a line change as Tony DeAngelo came off the New York bench. In OT (like the second period), a team’s bench is close to its offensive zone. So DeAngelo was close to the offensive blue line and behind any Lightning defender. He accepted a long pass from Bo Horvat and finished his breakaway chance.

The Lightning have played better. Their execution with the puck was not crisp, and they struggled to end plays when the Isles had possession in the Tampa Bay end. As a result, the Lightning were forced to defend for long stretches. They didn’t do a poor job in that regard — the Islanders didn’t create many high-danger looks, despite their possession advantage. But three costly coverage miscues did lead to Grade-A chances for New York. And three goals. At the other end, Sorokin, like so many other goalies the Lightning have faced recently, repeatedly denied nearly all of Tampa Bay’s best looks.

Next up are two crucial divisional games against Ottawa, which has a two-point lead on the Lightning in the standings.

Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):

  1. Ilya Sorokin — Islanders. 28 saves.
  2. Andrei Vasilevskiy — Lightning. 33 saves.
  3. Kyle Palmieri — Islanders. Goal.