The New York Islanders will not get any relief on the injury front against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Islanders players share thoughts about playing three of the last four games on home ice.
New York Islanders head coach Lane Lambert spoke ahead of their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
There is no update on the status of Alexander Romanov, who remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
He is unavailable for New York as he will miss his second straight game.
Lambert's group has scored just one goal over their last two games. As for how the Islanders get their offense going against a team they haven't beaten since 2019:
"I think our number one thing that triggers our offense is just establishing our forecheck. Get our forecheck going. We need a good start and to get to our game early."
It's time like this, late in the season with every point critical, where the top players on the team show up.
Bo Horvat has just one goal in his last five games: an empty-netter against the New Jersey Devils in a 5-1 win.
The last time he beat a goaltender, not counting his shootout dagger against the Washington Capitals last week, came against the Winnipeg Jets on Feb. 26.
"It's well documented...you need secondary scoring," Lambert said. "We're a four-line hockey team. And you know, we need our top guys to produce as well. So, the bottom line is that we play solid defensively and take advantage of our chances, establish our game."
The Hockey News asked a handful of New York Islanders about how important it is that they are in front of their fans for three of the final four games:
"I think being in front of our fans, feeding off their energy, is going to be huge. I mean, this is a time of the year that gets everyone juiced up. Looking forward to seeing them tomorrow night."-- Anders Lee
"You obviously want to take care of business at home. That's a focus each every year, having home ice, feeding off the crowds' energy, comfortable with the sightlines, and different things like that." -- Brock Nelson
"You want to be playing at home, whether it's for matchup or on the ice reasons, but at the end of the day, you want to be playing in front of your own fans, and there's a reason you feel comfortable and excited to play in our building. And that's something that we're looking forward to."-- Kyle Palmieri
"It feels great. Obviously, traveling adds another element, and especially back-to-back with travel is the least favorite for all of us, probably. So yeah, it's great to have these at home, to be at home, and to have the fans supporting us as well."-- Hudson Fasching
"It's huge. I mean, with the crowd behind us, it's going to give us a boost, and it's almost going to be like a playoff game."-- Samuel Bolduc