Islanders Face Lightning With Season On The Brink: Lines & Notes
The Islanders went 8-0-1 in their last nine games last season. Nine games to go....
ELMONT, NY — After dropping both games of a vital back-to-back, the New York Islanders (32-31-10) return home against the Tampa Bay Lightning (43-25-5) with only nine games to play in the regular season.
Puck drop at UBS Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and the game can be found exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu.
The Islanders’ comeback effort came up just short against the Lightning on Saturday, falling 5-3 at Amalie Arena. Tampa Bay jumped out to a 4-0 lead after 40 minutes of play, with the Islanders getting three straight goals to start the third period. However, Jonas Johansson slammed the door in net, and Nikita Kucherov finished a four-point game with an empty net goal.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
Lee-Horvat-Palmieri
Holmstrom-Pageau-Duclair
Engvall-Cizikas-Fasching
Tsyplakov-MacLean-Gatcomb
Pelech-DeAngelo
Romanov-Dobson
Boqbist-Pulock
Sorokin
Hogberg
Who’s Hot:
Two of the Islanders’ newest defensemen have made their mark against the Lightning this season. Tony DeAngelo has goals in both games against the Lightning this season, including an overtime winner in their first meeting back in February. Adam Boqvist has a goal and assist across both meetings, including a goal in his first game as an Islander.
Kyle Palmieri leads the Islanders in goals against the Lightning with 12 in 29 career games. Bo Horvat has nine assists in 21 career games to lead the team, with Anders Lee topping New York in total points with 16 in 31 contests.
Ilya Sorokin will start for the Islanders on Tuesday. He took the loss against the Lightning in his last outing, allowing four goals on 23 shots. Against Tampa Bay, he is 3-6-0 with a 3.48 GAA and .876 SV%.
OPPONENTS NOTES:
Kucherov’s four-point night on Saturday against the Islanders was his second in as many games. He enters with an eight-game point streak, notching five goals and eight assists for 12 points in that span. He also has a 10-game point streak against the Islanders, boasting six goals and 12 assists for 18 points.
After a goal and assist on Saturday, Jake Guentzel has a three-game point streak entering Tuesday’s game. The forward has three goals and two assists for five points in that span. Brandon Hagel has points in eight straight games, boasting two goals and six assists for eight points.
Guentzel leads rostered Lightning players in goals against New York with 13 in 35 games. Kucherov leads the team in helpers against the Islanders with 24 in 31 contests, sitting in a tie with Guentzel for most total points with 35.
Andrei Vasilevskiy will oppose Sorokin in net after sitting out for Jonas Johansson last Saturday. The former Vezina Trophy winner earned his 40th career shutout last time out on Thursday against the Utah Hockey Club, making all 25 saves. Against New York, he is 13-4-1 in 19 games, boasting a 2.09 GAA and .936 SV%, most recently allowing three goals on 36 shots in an overtime loss on Feb. 1.
LIGHTNING LINES:
NOTES: Atkinson will play as fourth-line LW.
Complimentary Parking!
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You are what your record says you are32-32 -10. What that record really says is you lost 42 games. Could go as high as 50, with eight to go. Let’s say that loss number ends up being 48. You lost 48 out of 82. I think if your management, Lou, Patrick, assistants, team, and fans you have to ruminate on it. UBS after 4 years has lost its luster, simply because of the on ice product. Management’s” In Lou We Trust” has come to a just ending I believe. Ledecky has been invisible, Malkin is not happy. In defense of those guys they have been great owners! They are patient thoughtful men. They have given us a great arena, and a wonderful off ice experience and environment. I personally think Patrick should be the GM. However he was the one who wanted to bring in DuClair. Lou has not only cratered the Islanders but Bridgeport too. Bridgeport looks like Chernobyl. We are left holding a few bags of excrement with catastrophic AAV’s and term. Off the top of my head 18-20 million of AHL level players. Maybe some had NHL careers at some point but, they are what they are. For people to say this team just needs a retool is a stretch. Your stars that you really have based the franchise on are Barzel and Dobson. Give that a moment and Let that sink in. I don’t know if management has faith in Patrick, I do. I believe he is the right dude, but from now on understand you either bring in a superstar FA or build with young promising players or a combo. No more average or marginal vets in an attempt to prop up the team. I don’t think anyone is above trading. That said Lou has given out NTC like a drunk Santa! The smoking wreckage has been four or five years coming. It’s honestly like looking at a failed rocket launch and carefully piecing through the wreckage. Who do you keep. Who do you send to an Adam Oates or a Chara for off season make overs. Who do you buy out? Who are cowards and fraudulent in spirit. Who could you get a little more from at any level in the organization. Can it be turned around quickly, the odds are against that considering you’re saddled with so many bags of excrement for so long I don’t use that term for them as people only players. I wouldn’t mind them doing a complete tear down on this team. Trading core pieces for great returns via young proven prospects and Draft capital. Instead of half ass trying to retrofit a flawed team. We are at an organizational inflection point. The owners have to give the keys to someone and tell them assess the situation and give me a path forward no matter how drastic you believe it is.