Islanders produce dominant win over Lightning
Islanders players celebrate a goal by center Bo Horvat in the second period of an NHL game against the Lightning at UBS Arena on Thursday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
A fired-up Patrick Roy gathered his Islanders at center ice to conclude Thursday’s morning skate, telling his players their identity was hard work and stressing the need for a good start that night against the Lightning at UBS Arena.
The coach got that, plus a good middle and end in the first laugher of his six-game tenure to start a stretch of three straight in their home rink.
The Islanders, getting goals from six players and essentially at full strength with fourth-line center Casey Cizikas returning, walloped the Lightning 6-2 as they built upon a strong performance in Monday’s 3-2 win in Toronto.
“It’s the commitment that the guys made,” said Roy, now 3-2-1 since replacing the fired Lane Lambert on Jan. 20. “Backchecking, coming back tracking, blocking shots. Things that don’t require talent, just will. And that’s what we had tonight. The will was phenomenal.”
The fans chanted Roy’s name in a third period in which the Islanders (22-17-12) smartly protected a four-goal lead and did not react to the Lightning’s chippy frustration.
Cizikas’ return followed defensemen Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech re-entering the lineup against the Maple Leafs. The Islanders remained four points back of the third-place Flyers in the Metropolitan Division but moved within two points of a wild-card spot.
“We’ve always been confident regardless of where we are in the standings,” said Mathew Barzal, who lifted a backhander to the shortside for a 2-1 lead at 14:07 of the first period. “We haven’t really been able to string games together lately. For us to get that one and have Pulock back, Cizikas back healthy. You can just feel the locker room open up a little bit. Shoulders feel a little more at ease.”
Ilya Sorokin (18 saves) faced just 10 shots over the first two periods.
A leaky Jonas Johansson stopped 18 shots for the Lightning (27-20-5), who have won eight of 11 but we’re coming off Wednesday night’s 3-1 loss to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
“It’s all about mindset,” said Pulock, whose power-play blast from the left point extended the Islanders’ lead to 4-2 at 7:10 of the second period after Brandon Hagel’s power-play goal brought the Lightning within one at 1:14.
“Every day we’re learning. Every day we’re improving different areas of our game. As you build that, everything becomes more comfortable in those situations and then you just play. Right now, guys are just playing and playing the right way. That builds momentum.”
Bo Horvat followed Pulock’s power-play goal to make it 5-2 off Barzal’s feed at 8:18 of the second period.
Cizikas then intercepted the puck in the Lightning zone and got to the crease to cap the scoring at 15:22 of the second period.
“I was just happy to be back,” said Cizikas, who missed 10 games with a lower-body injury and was playing his first game for Roy. “It’s tough watching the guys battle every single night. You want to be a part of that so bad. The guys made it easy for me. They talked. They let me know where I needed to be. It was just a great team effort.”
Roy’s work on neutral-zone play paid off as the Islanders were able to transport the puck up ice more efficiently.
Defenseman Noah Dobson opened the scoring as his feed banked in off Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak at 4:07. Nikita Kucherov, the NHL’s leading scorer, tied it with a blue-line blast at 6:42. Defenseman Mike Reilly’s puck retrieval allowed him to set up Kyle Palmieri to give the Islanders a 3-1 lead at 18:35 of the first period.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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