Overview
- The Islanders suffered their sixth consecutive loss, falling 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning at UBS Arena on Tuesday night.
- New York is now five points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot with only eight games remaining in the season.
- Bo Horvat scored a short-handed goal for the Islanders but missed key scoring opportunities, and the team struggled offensively, going 0-for-4 on the power play.
- Jake Guentzel and Victor Hedman scored pivotal second-period goals for the Lightning, while Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves to secure Tampa Bay's fourth straight win.
- Nikita Kucherov's two assists raised his season total to 111 points, reclaiming the NHL scoring lead as the Lightning near their eighth consecutive playoff appearance.