Lightning score six in win against Islanders

NEW YORK -- Nikita Kucherov scored two power-play goals and had two assists to help the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 6-1 win against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on Tuesday.
The win concluded a six-game road trip for the Lightning (6-4-0), who ended a three-game losing streak during which they were outscored 12-3, including a 6-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Sunday.
"We knew this would have to be a response game for us," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. "We got challenged internally in this room and got challenged from the coaching staff to respond. I thought we did a great job of just playing the right way, playing the way that has made us successful, which is defend first and let the skill take over after that."

The Lightning entered the game with three first-period goals this season, all against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 25. They equaled that total in the first to chase Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss (eight saves), who was pulled for Jaroslav Halak after Stamkos made it 3-0 at 13:34.
Kucherov gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead with a shot from the right faceoff circle off a pass from Stamkos during a 4-on-3 power play 3:21 into the game. He scored again to make it 2-0 with his third goal of the season, a wrist shot from the right circle while using Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk as a screen at 12:18.

The Islanders had a season-high 29 penalty minutes and gave the Lightning seven power plays.
"You can't get into penalty trouble against good teams," coach Jack Capuano said. "Right from the start, when we took the penalty, it just snowballed."
Stamkos' seventh goal came on a tip-in of a shot from defenseman Slater Koekkoek, playing in his first game after he was recalled from Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Monday.
Brian Boyle, JT Brown (shorthanded) and Valtteri Filppula scored in the second period for the Lightning. Dennis Seidenberg scored for the Islanders (4-6-0) to break the shutout at 19:30 of the second.
Lightning goalie Ben Bishop made 26 saves. Halak made 22 saves for the Islanders.

Goal of the game

Working a 4-on-3 power play, Stamkos baited two Islanders defenders into thinking he would shoot before sending a cross-ice pass to an open Kucherov, whose wrist shot from a sharp angle found a wide-open net for the Lightning's first goal.

Save of the game

Ryan Strome's turnover in his own end led to a Brown breakaway, but Halak prevented the Lightning from taking a 7-0 lead when he stopped Brown and then Callahan off a rebound at 17:34 of second period.

Highlight of the game

Brown, a healthy scratch Sunday, scored his first goal of the season on a shorthanded breakaway at 9:30 of the second. After Boychuk's shot from the point caromed off the glass and deflected off the boards, the puck bounced over Islanders defenseman Calvin de Haan's stick. Brown skated in, made a couple of moves and elevated the puck over Halak's right shoulder to give Tampa Bay a 5-0 lead.

Unsung moment of the game

Capuano successfully challenged a Lightning goal at 6:18 of the first period when video review determined Tampa Bay forward Tyler Johnson was offside prior to Stamkos' power-play goal. Stamkos made a great play to chip the puck low to start the play, which he completed with a one-timer that beat Greiss and gave the Lightning a 2-0 lead before it was overturned. The Islanders killed off the rest of penalty to keep the score 1-0.

They said it

"I've been with this group for a little while now. When they've kind of pushed up against the wall they usually have push back. I thought it was just a complete effort. Compare and contrast to the Ranger game when it was just odd-man rush after odd-man rush. We were a really responsible team tonight." - Lightning coach Jon Cooper
"It's not the first time it's happened, right? Listen, at the end of the day I have a singular focus just like I tell the players. I don't concentrate on that. I know what we've done the last three years here. I know the points we had, I know what our record is. I know what our coaching staff can do. That has no effect on me nor on the team." -- Islanders coach Jack Capuano on chants of 'Fire Cappy' from fans

Need to know

Lightning forward Jonathan Drouin played 18 seconds before he was lifted from the game for precautionary reasons after taking an elbow to the head by de Haan. Cooper said Drouin was in good spirits following the game and will be re-evaluated Wednesday. … Koekkoek had two assists and was a plus-2 in 13:12 of ice time. … The six goals allowed were the most the Islanders allowed at Barclays Center since beginning play in Brooklyn last season.

What's next

Lightning: Host the Boston Bruins on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; SUN, NESN, NHL.TV)
Islanders: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, CSN-PH, NHL.TV)