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Islanders fall to Lightning, have lost three straight games

November 16, 2021, 8:10 AM ET [321 Comments]
Ben Shelley
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The New York Islanders fell 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning last night, with their losing streak extending to three games.

It was certainly an eventful start to the game, as Zdeno Chara dropped the gloves with Pat Maroon just as the game began, then we saw two quick goals. The Islanders opened the scoring, with Mathew Barzal taking advantage of a turnover from Victor Hedman, as Zach Parise sent him a breakaway pass and Barzal went to the backhand to roof it over Andrei Vasilevskiy. However, the Lightning wasted no time responding, as Sebastian Aho wasn’t able to clear the puck and Mathieu Joseph capitalized, putting a nice shot past Semyon Varlamov. Things quieted down a bit as the period went on but Anthony Cirelli would give the Lightning the lead with under a minute to go in the frame, picking up a loose puck from in close and putting it over Varlamov.

The Islanders rebounded with a very strong second period, outshooting the Lightning by a 12-3 margin in the frame. However, they couldn’t capitalize on any of their power play opportunities and it remained 2-1 Lightning after 40 minutes.

Brayden Point would put the Lightning up by two goals with about 6:30 to go in the third period, scoring off a loose puck battle in front of the net after a 2-on-1 chance. The Islanders kind of fell apart after that, taking penalties and giving up a fourth goal.

It wasn’t a bad game overall but the Islanders had a relatively poor third period and once again, they couldn’t bury their chances. They’ve managed one goal on 68 shots over the last two games and as has been the case at times over the last few years, offense has been an issue.

Sebastian Aho wasn’t great in his season debut, playing a role in two different goals allowed. That said, it’s also becoming more and more apparent that the team needs a defenseman who can add some offense, even if that’s not Aho.

The Islanders will wrap up their 13-game road trip tonight against the Florida Panthers.



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Supersurvey
OTHER ARTICLES FROM NOVEMBER

​​Islanders’ solid start on the road sets them up for success
​​Ilya Sorokin proving capable of Islanders’ starting role
​​Islanders trade Johnny Boychuk to Sabres
​​Islanders' point streak ends in Varlamov's return as road trip nears an end
​​Islanders fall 4-0 to Devils
​​Leo Komarov leaves Islanders, heading to KHL
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