Game Preview: Islanders at Lightning

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (32-29-10) AT TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (42-25-5)

2 PM | AMALIE ARENA

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The New York Islanders are back on the road and ready to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Isles saw a six-game point streak snapped at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks in a 5-2 loss at UBS Arena on Wednesday night. Casey CIzikas and Tony DeAngelo scored for New York, while Ilya Sorokin allowed four goals on 19 shots before Marcus Hogberg stopped all five shots he saw in relief.

The Lightning bulldozed the Utah Hockey Club 8-0 on Thursday night. Nikita Kucherov had a four-point night (1G, 3A), while Victor Hedman (1G, 2A), Brayden Point (1G, 1A), Oliver Bjorkstrand (2G), Jake Guentzel (2G), Gage Goncalves scored for the Lightning.

SEASON SERIES AND STANDINGS IMPLICATIONS

The Islanders lead the season series 1-0-0 after DeAngelo was the overtime hero in a 3-2 OT win over the Lightning on Feb. 1, which snapped a five-game losing streak against Tampa on the road. The win was costly though, as Mathew Barzal blocked a shot late in the game and has been sidelined with an injury since.

The Islanders will face the Lightning twice in a short span to conclude the season series. They’ll go head-to-head at Amalie Arena on Saturday and again on Tuesday night at UBS Arena, which is a home-and-home for Tampa Bay, but not the Islanders, as they’ll take on the Carolina Hurricanes between both meetings with the Lightning.

The Islanders (74 points) stand one point back of the Columbus Blue Jackets (75 points) for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets outlasted the Vancouver Canucks in a shootout to win 7-6 on Friday night, which bumped the Montreal Canadiens who dropped both games of a back-to-back set.

ISLES NOTES

- Defenseman Adam Boqvist will draw back into the lineup on Saturday after missing Wednesday’s game as a healthy scratch, per Head Coach Patrick Roy. The defenseman has five points (2G, 3A) through 13 games played with the Islanders this season, including a goal against the Lightning in his Isles debut on Feb. 1. Roy said that Boqvist’s skills on the power play can be an asset when facing the Lightning, as their PK ranks fifth in the NHL (82.3%). Mike Reilly will be a healthy scratch as a result.

“We need a power-play guy, that’s why we’ll go with him,” Roy said of Boqvist. “He’s got skills, he moves the puck well. He’s got a nice shot.”

- The Islanders power play struggled on Wednesday, going 0-for-2. The power play is 2-for-27 (7.4%) in its last nine games and 12.0% overall this season, which ranks 32^nd in the NHL.

- With a goal and an assist on Wednesday, Casey Cizikas recorded his third multi-point game of the season.

- Tony DeAngelo is riding a four-game point streak (1G, 4A). The defenseman has 15 points (3G, 12A) through his first 24 games with the Islanders.

The Islanders are 15-15-5 on the road this season.

- The Islanders are 1-4-2 in matinee contests this season.

LIGHTNING NOTES

- The Lightning are third in the Atlantic Division with 89 points and are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games.

- The Lightning acquired forwards Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline in a three-team trade that involved the Seattle Kraken and Detroit Red Wings.

- Gourde has collected eight assists through his first 11 games since being reacquired by the Lightning after putting up 17 points (6G, 11A) through 36 games with the Kraken before the trade. Gourde had surgery to repair a sports hernia in January and made his return to action on Mar. 4 right before the trade to Tampa. Bjorkstrand has five points (3G, 2A) through his first 11 games with the Lightning after he had 37 points (16G, 21A) through 61 games in his third season in Seattle.

- Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring with 73 assists and 105 points, which marks his fifth career and third consecutive 100-point campaign. Kucherov became the 21st player in NHL history to record at least five 100-point seasons and the 10th player to post three consecutive 70-assist seasons. His nine game-winners lead the Lightning and mark a career-high. Kucherov led the NHL last season with 144 points.

- Brayden Point leads the Lightning with 36 goals and buried his 300^th career goal on Thursday against Utah.

- Ryan McDonagh recorded two assists in his 1,000^th career NHL game on Thursday night. The veteran defenseman has 27 points (3G, 24A) through 72 games this season.

- Anthony Cirelli scored twice in a 6-1 win over Pittsburgh on Tuesday, which marked his 500th career NHL game. The 27-year-old is having a career-year, building on career-highs of 26 goals and 52 points.