Lightning Offense Comes Alive in Road Trip Finale

Coming off a hard-fought overtime win in Detroit Saturday afternoon, the Tampa Bay Lightning were looking to build some momentum in Sunday afternoon’s road trip finale. They did that, beating the tough New York Islanders 4-1 to close their last long road trip with an even 2-2 record.

Game Recap

In the midst of a difficult stretch, the Lightning made their first of two trips to UBS Arena to face the Islanders. Both teams weren’t happy with how they played 24 hours before, making for an interesting start.

Two and a half minutes in, the two teams got feisty. Matt Martin started things by putting Corey Perry into a headlock. Pat Maroon then threw a few punches with Ross Johnston. Martin and Perry each received minor penalties, while Maroon and Johnston got five minute majors for fighting.

Soon after the rough stuff, the Islanders took control of the opening frame. A lazy back check by Nikita Kucherov allowed the Isles to take the early lead. Brock Nelson continued his recent hot streak, beating Andrei Vasilevskiy for the 1-0 lead.

From there, the Lightning tightened up defensively. They also played relatively smart hockey for the most part, limiting their penalties and cashed in on the few power plays they got.

With Zdeno Chara off for tripping, the Bolts got a power play goal from Victor Hedman to tie things at one.

Nearly eight and a half minutes later, Anthony Cirelli and Alex Killorn found themselves with a 2-on-1. Cirelli’s pass hit Killorn perfectly and the former Harvard product deposited the puck behind Ilya Sorokin for a 2-1 lead.

Late in the middle frame, it looked as if the Islanders had tied things up when Jean Gabriel Pageau beat Vasilevskiy. However, the Lightning challenged the play for offsides. Upon further review, it was deemed the play was offsides and the goal was wiped out.

Entering the final period, the Lightning needed to play smart hockey. They did that and more, outshooting the Islanders 14-6 and scoring two more goals. First, Ross Colton beat Semyon Varlamov, who was in the game after Sorokin suffered an upper body injury late in the second, to make it 3-1. Mikhail Sergachev then scored to put the game away in the latter stages of the period for a 4-1 final.

Game Notes

• The Lightning scored four goals for the first time in a week and a half. They last scored four in a win in Seattle on March 16.
• Cal Foote played his second game in a while, replacing Ryan McDonagh who’s out indefinitely after sustaining an injury against Boston last week.
• Andrei Vasilevskiy won for the first time in over a week. His last victory was in Seattle on March 16.
• The Lightning beat the Islanders for the second time this season. Both games were 4-1 finals. The two teams meet for the final time in the regular season finale April 29.
• After finding themselves in a wild card spot Thursday night, the Lightning have won two straight to put themselves back in second place in the Atlantic Division.

Next Up

With the road heavy portion of their schedule over, the Lightning head home where they will spend much of April. That home stretch begins with a nationally televised game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night, March 29. Puck drop is set for 7 pm EST.