After kicking off their Florida road trip with a win in Sunrise, the New York Islanders (31-26-15) face the Tampa Bay Lightning (40-25-7) in their final meeting of the season.
After kicking off their Florida road trip with a win in Sunrise, the New York Islanders (31-26-15) face the Tampa Bay Lightning (40-25-7) in their final meeting of the season.
Puck drop from Amalie Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
The Islanders lost their last game against the Lightning on Feb. 24. Tampa dominated the opening 40 minutes of play, getting goals from Nick Paul, Nikita Kucherov, and Brayden Point. The Islanders tried to make a comeback late in the third, with Anders Lee and Brock Nelson lighting the lamp, but by then, it was too late. Luke Glendenning sealed the deal with the empty-net goal to give Tampa a 4-2 win.
With the Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals losing on Thursday, the Islanders enter Saturday's game four points out of the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference; Tampa Bay holds the top spot with 87 points.
Where They've Been:
Tampa earned the victory in a rivalry matchup with the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night. Mitchell Chaffee broke the ice for Tampa halfway through the first period, but Danton Heinen got Boston even before the end of the frame. Brayden Point put Tampa ahead in the second period and, like the Islanders, clamped down the rest of the way. Tampa limited Boston to 14 shots over the final 40 minutes, and Nikita Kucherov scored an empty net goal to finish a 3-1 win.
The Lightning have started to find their game late in the regular season, going 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.
Players To Watch:
Fresh off his 26-save performance against the Panthers, head coach Patrick Roy will send Semyon Varlamov back to the net for his 22nd start of the season (9-7-4, 2.82 GAA, .911 SV%). Varlamov has earned a point in four straight starts, with three wins in that span. Against the Lightning, he is 10-8-2 with a 2.48 GAA and .919 SV%, his last start coming on Nov. 15, 2021, with four goals against 28 shots in a loss.
Nelson's goal in their last matchup gives him points in three-straight games against the Lightning; the forward has two goals and three assists in that span. Noah Dobson also has a three-game point streak against Tampa Bay, totaling a goal and three assists.
Nelson and Horvat are both one goal shy of the 30-goal mark for the third-straight season. Nelson's sat on 29 goals for nine straight games, while Horvat has gone five games without a goal. Horvat's next point will also be the 500th of his career.
Despite his recent struggles, Nelson has had success against the Lightning throughout his career. He leads active Islanders in goals and points against them with 11 and 20, respectively. Mathew Barzal leads in assists with 10.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper confirmed that Andrei Vasilevskiy will make his 46th start of the season on Saturday (27-16-2, 2.90 GAA, .898). Vasilevskiy has earned points in seven-straight games, totaling six wins in that span; he earned the victory against Boston with 23 saves. Against New York, he is 12-4-0 with a 2.10 GAA and .936 SV%, earning the win with 32 saves in their last matchup.
Amalie Arena has given the Islanders fits in recent years. The last time New York defeated the Lightning in their building was on Dec. 7, 2019.
Brayden Point, a usual Islander-killer, enters Saturday's game on a four-game point streak. The forward has six goals and two assists in that span, along with 18 points in 19 games against New York.
Kucherov's empty-net goal got him back on the board after losing his 13-game point streak on March 24. The All-Star forward leads the league in points with 124, totaling 42 goals and 82 assists. Kucherov's success extends matchups with New York, boasting points in seven-straight games against them with four goals and seven assists in that span.
Steven Stamkos leads active Lightning players in goals against the Islanders in all offensive categories, totaling 21 goals and 24 assists, good for 45 points.
New York Islanders Projected Lines:
Casey Cizikas - Brock Nelson - Kyle Palmieri
Anders Lee - Mathew Barzal - Hudson Fasching
Pierre Engvall - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Bo Horvat
Matt Martin - Kyle MacLean - Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech - Noah Dobson
Mike Reilly - Ryan Pulock
Alexander Romanov - Robert Bortuzzo
Semyon Varlamov
Ilya Sorokin
Tampa Bay Lightning Projected Lines:
Anthony Duclair - Brayden Point - Nikita Kucherov
Steven Stamkos - Anthony Cirelli - Brandon Hagel
Michael Eyssimont - Nicholas Paul - Mitchell Chaffee
Tanner Jeannot - Luke Glendening - Tyler Motte
Victor Hedman - Darren Raddysh
Matt Dumba - Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg - Nick Perbix
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Jonas Johansson
How to Watch:
Saturday night's game will be available on MSGSN. On the radio, the game will air on 88.7 FM WRHU, 103.9 LI News Radio, and 1050 AM ESPN.