There wasn’t much offense for either team at Benchmark International Arena on Saturday.
After the Islanders took a 1-0 lead late on the power play, the Lightning earned numerous looks at a tying goal, including multiple with their own net empty.
The tying goal never came, and the visitors left with a 2-0 victory. Tampa Bay falls to 16-10-2 with the loss, the team’s third in a row.
“We’re a proud team,” captain Victor Hedman said. “We want to win hockey games. But like I said, we talk about the process and we’ve had a lot of good moments the last couple months and there’s some good win streaks, but now that’s three (losses) in a row, and we’ve got to stop that bleeding.”
Tampa Bay outshot the Islanders 21 to 12 through the opening 40 minutes of hockey, and the game appeared headed for overtime for much of the third period.
Just as the game passed its midway point, the Islanders received a four-minute power play after a high-sticking double minor call on the Lightning. It led to the only goal that beat a goalie all night.
Anders Lee tipped a point shot in the high slot, and the puck ended up behind the Lightning net. Rookie forward Calum Ritchie tucked the puck between his legs from behind the net, sneaking the opening goal inside the left post with 7:14 remaining in the game.
The Islanders added an empty-net goal in the closing seconds from Casey Cizikas.
“I thought we did some good things, just couldn’t find the back of the net,” Tampa Bay forward Anthony Cirelli said. “It’s hard to win games when you don’t score a goal.”
Saturday marked Hedman’s return to the lineup following a 12-game absence due to injury. He played 16 minutes, 43 seconds of time on ice.
