Islanders make a better effort but still lose to Lightning

TAMPA, Fla. — The Islanders played better because, well, they couldn’t have played worse than they had in their previous game.

They outchanced the Lightning 72-46 and outhit them 48-29, but the Islanders still made enough mistakes to result in a 5-3 loss to the three-time Stanley Cup finalist on Saturday night at Amalie Arena.

“We had a very good effort,” coach Lane Lambert said. “We did a lot of things that we wanted to do. I thought we competed hard. We made some mistakes and they ended up in the back of our net.”

Most glaring was the end of the second period. Nikita Soshnikov, inserted into the lineup with Josh Bailey a healthy scratch, turned it over and then let Nicholas Paul skate around him to beat Ilya Sorokin (21 saves) with less than a second left as the Lightning took a 4-2 lead.

That stood as the winner after defenseman Ryan Pulock intercepted Brandon Hagel’s attempted clear and beat Brian Elliott (33 saves) from the slot to pull the Islanders within 4-3 at 5:45 of the third period.

“I went back to help with the play,” said Soshnikov, in the lineup for the first time since the season opener. “I had a lot of time with the puck. I tried to get to the red line and dump it in. Unfortunately, the guy had good position on me. It’s just crazy that one millisecond left and it ended up in our net.

“I thought we played well the whole game. I know it’s a cliche, but bounces were against us today.”

The Islanders (2-3-0) were coming off Thursday night’s no-show 4-1 loss to the dominant Devils at UBS Arena to end their season-opening four-game homestand. Lambert criticized the Islanders’ compete level in that loss.

“The feeling that you have during the last game is what kicks you in the butt. It’s not the coaching telling you because we all know,” said Cal Clutterbuck, who was credited with a game-high 10 hits. “We knew we needed to respond with an effort. I feel like we did that. Didn’t get the result. That’s frustrating. But we’ve got another crack at it in less than 24 hours, and if we bring the same effort, I like our chances.”

Saturday started a very challenging five-game stretch against some of the NHL’s best. The Islanders will conclude their quick Florida swing against the Panthers late Sunday afternoon. The Panthers, who beat the Isles in the teams’ season opener, 3-1, at UBS Arena on Oct. 13, led the NHL with 122 points last season.

Then the Islanders face the Rangers and Hurricanes, top Metropolitan Division contenders, before hosting the reigning Stanley Cup champion Avalanche next Saturday.

The Islanders started Saturday’s game with a strong forecheck and territorial advantage, but Brayden Point made it 1-0 at 10:43 of the first period after defenseman Scott Mayfield misplayed the puck behind the crease. Matt Martin tied it from the slot at 12:29 of the first period, but Hagel knocked in a loose puck after Point’s shot hit the crossbar to make it 2-1 at 18:03.

Corey Perry upped that to 3-1 at 3:12 of the second period after the Islanders killed off 40 seconds of a five-on-three to start the period. The Islanders’ penalty kill is 18-for-18 this season. Anthony Beauvillier’s backhander dribbled through Elliott to close the gap to 3-2 at 9:36 of the second period.

The Lightning’s Alex Killorn, converting on a rebound, closed the scoring at 14:08 of the third period.

“It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” Mathew Barzal said. “I liked our compete. I liked our battle.”

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

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.