Lightning explode for six, defeat Islanders

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
November 1, 2016

Jon Cooper called the final game of a six-game road trip a test for the Tampa Bay Lightning a test.

Mired in the middle of a three-game slide, held to just three goals in that span and suffering an embarrassing loss in the previous game, a playoff rematch against the New York Islanders could have ended the trip on a failure.

Instead, Tampa Bay passed with flying colors after a 6-1 victory against the Islanders at Barclays Center.

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Nikita Kucherov had two goals and finished with four points for the second time on the road trip. Steven Stamkos scored his league-leading seventh goal of the season while J.T. Brown scored on a shorthanded breakaway for his first of the season.

Valtteri Filppula and Brian Boyle also scored while Ben Bishop finished with 26 saves for the victory to end the extended trip on a positive note.

“We talked about this game in a lot of detail and knew that this was going to have to be a response game for us,’’ Stamkos said. “We got challenged internally in this room. We got challenged by the coaching staff to respond and I thought we did a great job of just playing the right way. We learned that what made us successful was just defend first and let the skill take over after that.’’

That attitude was on display from the get-go.

Tampa Bay came out with a determined effort that showed in how hard every single player came out skating. It was evident on the forecheck. It was noticeable on the back check.

And when opportunities presented themselves offensively, the Lightning took advantage. That included the first power play chance as Stamkos held the puck coming down the left circle to draw the defense along with goaltender Thomas Greiss toward him before dishing over to an open Kucherov who had enough time to settle the puck on his blade and snap a shot into the vacated part of the net.

Kucherov struck again on the power play for his third goal of the season while Stamkos redirected a Slater Koekkoek pass 1:16 later to make it 3-0 and chase Greiss from the game in the first period after facing just 11 shots on goal.

But Jaroslav Halak did not fare much better as the Lightning blew the game open in the second period. Boyle notched his second goal of the season and first since opening night on a backhander in tight at 6:17 while Brown raced ahead to collect a loose puck while on the penalty kill, racing in on a breakaway for his first goal of the season at 9:30. Filppula capped the Tampa Bay scoring as he was credited with his fourth goal of the season on a puck that ping-ponged around the crease and landed in the net at 11:19.

Bishop lost the shutout bid late in the second period on a goal from Dennis Seidenberg before turning aside all 15 New York shots in the third period.

“I thought it was just a complete effort,’’ Cooper said. “Compare and contrast to the Rangers game where it was just odd-man rush after odd-man rush, we were a really responsible team tonight, and we ended up getting the lead and then held on from there. They were a responsible group.’’

Postgame notes: D Slater Koekkoek made his season debut, finishing with two assists for his first career multi-point game in 13 minutes, 12 seconds of ice time. … The five-goal margin of victory was the largest for Tampa Bay since a 5-0 win against Buffalo on Dec. 4, 2014. … LW Jonathan Drouin left the game after his first shift following a hit to the head from New York D Calvin de Haan and did not return. The team announced Drouin had suffered an “injury’’ and would not return. Cooper said after the game that Drouin was held out for “precautionary’’ reasons. … D Victor Hedman registered an assist to move to within one of tying Dan Boyle for most assists (187) by a defenseman in franchise history.

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