Game Preview: Islanders vs Lightning 

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (23-19-14) VS TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (30-23-5)

2 PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS

WATCH: MSGSN | MSG+ | ESPN+

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050AM

The New York Islanders are briefly back at home as they face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday for a matinee matchup at UBS Arena.

The Islanders came home from a two-game road trip where they picked up two of a possible four points, most recently falling 4-0 to the Blues in St. Louis on Thursday night. The Islanders surrendered three goals in the span of 32 seconds in the middle frame and were not able to forge a comeback, though they outshot St Louis 38-25.

“It’s about winning hockey games,” said Head Coach Patrick Roy. “Do I feel good that our team kept fighting out there? Yes I do. But we have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot night after night. We played well enough to win tonight, there is no doubt in my mind. But we’re making critical mistakes at the wrong times.”

The Lightning are coming to Long Island in the midst of a three-game losing streak. They fell 5-3 to the Washington Capitals on Thursday night, as Brandon Hagel, Nicholas Paul and Tyler Motte provided three goals for Tampa Bay. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves.

The Islanders and Lightning met fairly recently with the Isles coming out on top in a 6-2 win at UBS Arena on Feb. 8. Noah Dobson, Mathew Barzal, Kyle Palmieri, Ryan Pulock, Bo Horvat and Casey Cizikas potted goals in the win. After Saturday’s matinee matchup, the two teams will meet for the conclusion of the season series on March 30th in Tampa.

In a tight race for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, Saturday’s tilt will have major implications for the Islanders (60 points, 56 games played), who are chasing the Lightning (65 points, 58 games played) by five points. The Isles have the advantage of two games in-hand.

ISLANDERS NOTES

- The New York Islanders announced on Friday that Hudson Fasching and Sam Bolduc have been sent to the Bridgeport Islanders on a conditioning stint. Both players can play in Bridgeport for up to 14 days as part of their conditioning stint.

- Fasching was placed on LTIR with a lower-body injury on Wednesday, retroactive to Jan. 25. Fasching will be eligible to return on Thursday after he satisfies both the 10-game and 24-day absence period required by an LTIR designation. He has eight points (3G, 5A) in 35 games this season, along with 37 hits and 21 blocked shots.

- Bolduc has been a healthy scratch for seven games and has not drawn into the lineup since Jan. 27. The 23-year-old defenseman has three points (1G, 2A) through 33 appearances this season. Bolduc has not played in Bridgeport since March 18th, 2023.

- Mathew Barzal’s eight-game 11-point streak ended on Thursday night. The forward is on the cusp of a career milestone, as his next assist will mark 300 for his career. 

- Matt Martin played in his 800th career game as an Islander on Thursday, while Brock Nelson played in his 814th. Martin stands in eighth place in franchise history while Nelson is expected to pass Bob Bourne for sole possession of sixth place on Saturday. 

- The Islanders are 16-8-8 against Eastern Conference opponents this season.

LIGHTNING NOTES 

- The Lightning occupy the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with 65 points and 58 games played. Tampa Bay dropped three straight games and lost five of their last eight contests, most recently falling 5-3 to the Washington Capitals on Thursday. 

- Haydn Fleury left Thursday’s contest with an undisclosed injury and did not return. His status against the Islanders is to be determined. Fleury has four points (1G, 3A) through 17 games this season. 

- Erik Cernak (day to day, illness) missed Thursday’s game and is also questionable for Saturday’s tilt against the Islanders. The 26-year-old blueliner has eight points (1G, 7A) through 46 games this season. 

- Brandon Hagel extended his career-long point streak to 11 games on Thursday with a goal against the Capitals. The 25-year-old has 16 points (8G, 8A) over that span and is riding the longest active point streak in the league. Hagel has 54 points (21G, 33A) through 54 games. 

- Nikita Kucherov is the top scorer in the NHL with 95 points in his 10th season. The 30-year-old winger is one assist away from his fourth 60-assist season, which would break his own record in Bolts history with three 60-assist seasons. 

- Brayden Point is playing at a point-per-game pace with 59 points (28G, 31A) through 58 games in his eighth season with Tampa Bay. The 27-year-old will enter Saturday's contest riding a four-game point streak (3G, 2A).

- The Lightning own the league’s best power play (29.7%).