Lightning at Islanders
THE STORY: The New York Islanders rebounded from a tough stretch with a remarkable road trip, gaining seven of a possible eight points. Now they will play three straight at home in a five-day period, starting with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. The Islanders scored nine goals in the last two games after allowing only four in the previous three contests. Matt Moulson had a goal in each in the first three games and a career-high four Saturday at Dallas in a 5-4 victory. The Lightning have lost four straight after their demoralizing 4-2 defeat at Ottawa on Monday. The Islanders have beaten Tampa Bay seven of the last nine on Long Island, including a 5-1 triumph Oct. 13.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, SunSports (Tampa), MSG Plus (New York)
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (11-13-2): It sure looked like the Lightning were going to snap a losing streak Monday, but for the second time in two games they lost a third-period lead. Steven Stamkos did extend his point streak to seven games, in which he has five goals and five assists. Stamkos played with Marty St. Louis and Steve Downie most of the night Monday and Vincent Lecavalier was with Teddy Purcell or Ryan Shannon and Ryan Malone. Pavel Kubina missed the Ottawa game with a lower-body injury. Bruno Gervais filled in and scored his second goal.
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (8-11-5): The line of Moulson, John Tavares and P.A. Parenteau are back at it. Moulson leads the team with 13 goals. Tavares has no goals in 13 games, but had five assists in the last two games. Parenteau had a goal and six assists on the four-game trip. Goaltender Rick DiPietro and speedy forward Michael Grabner both left the Dallas game with groin injuries and are listed as day-to-day. Rookie wing Nino Niederreiter is out indefinitely, suffering from concussion symptoms after a hit by Dallas’ Mark Fistric.
OVERTIME:
1. Viktor Kozlov was the last Islander to score four goals in a game, exactly five years to the day of Moulson’s effort.
2. St. Louis has 799 career points in 880 games.
3. Islanders defenseman Andrew MacDonald was placed on injured reserve Monday and is expected to miss 2-to-4 weeks with a leg injury.