Islanders score 6 in win against Lightning

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal each had a goal and an assist, and the New York Islanders won 6-2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning at UBS Arena on Thursday.

Noah Dobson, Kyle Palmieri, Ryan Pulock, and Casey Cizikas also scored for the Islanders (22-17-12), who have won two straight games. Ilya Sorokin made 18 saves.

“The commitment that the guys made backchecking, coming back, tracking and blocking shots, things that don’t require talent, but just will, and that’s what we had tonight,” New York coach Patrick Roy said. “The will was phenomenal. ... This is a very good team 1-on-1, and I thought our guys were playing well, and we moved that puck fast.”

Nikita Kucherov and Brandon Hagel scored for the Lightning (27-20-5), who have lost two in a row. Jonas Johansson made 18 saves.

“It’s disappointing,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “I don’t know how else … is there another adjective beyond that? Let’s be honest. We didn’t have the ideal first period, which, obviously, was disappointing. In the end, it’s a 3-2 game. We hit the post. We’re all over them. It could be 3-3. We take the penalty. We can’t get out of it. It’s 4-2, and then it went downhill after that.”

Dobson gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 4:07 of the first period when he tried to feed Oliver Wahlstrom at the blocker side post from the right face-off dot, and the puck caromed in off Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak.

“Obviously, we weren’t happy with our game," Cernak said. "We let them take the lead from the beginning off an offensive-zone turnover. Kind of an unlucky bounce off my skate into the net.”

Kucherov tied the game 1-1 at 6:42 after his shot from inside the Islanders blue line was deflected in the high slot before beating Sorokin to the blocker side. Kucherov leads the NHL with 87 points (33 goals, 54 assists).

After an offensive-zone face-off win, Horvat shoveled the puck to Barzal, who roofed a backhand short side from the low slot to give New York a 2-1 lead at 14:07.

“I knew [Barzal] was kind of over there,” Horvat said. “Obviously, the draw didn’t go exactly as planned. So I knew he was heading back to the back side, and I threw it there, and he made a [heck] of a play to bear down.”

Palmieri extended the lead to 3-1 at 18:35, scoring off a Mike Reilly pass from behind the net.

Hagel pulled the Lightning to within 3-2 at 1:14 of the second period on the power play. After Anthony Cirelli cut to the front of the crease, Sorokin made the save on the initial shot, but Hagel scored on the rebound.

Pulock gave the Islanders a 4-2 lead on the power play at 7:10 when his slap shot from inside the blue line went off the glove-side post and in.

“It always feels good to score,” Pulock said. “They're hard to find as a defenseman. So when you can get on the board like that, at kind of a crucial part of the game, it feels good.”

Horvat’s one-timer beat Johansson through an Anders Lee screen to make it 5-2 at 8:18.

Cizikas scored to the short side from the low slot at 15:22 for the 6-2 final.

NOTES: Kucherov extended his point streak to six games (11 points; five goals, six assists). ... Barzal extended his point streak to four games (six points; three goals, three assists). ... Palmieri has points in four straight (five points; three goals, two assists). ... Dobson ended a 15-game goal drought. … Cizikas returned to the lineup after a 10-game absence because of a lower-body injury.