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The New York Islanders dropped their first road game of the season tonight, falling 5-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In some notable moves, Josh Bailey was a healthy scratch for the Islanders, with Nikita Soshnikov joining the third line in his place. Sebastian Aho also entered the lineup for the first time this season after he was activated from injured reserve and Robin Salo was assigned to the AHL. Ilya Sorokin also got his fourth start of the year.
The Islanders started pretty strong, shutting down a lot of entries and sustaining some time in Tampa Bay’s end. However, the Lightning struck first midway through the frame, with the Islanders mishandling the puck behind their own net and it eventually got front out to Brayden Point, who capitalized to open the scoring. Under two minutes later though, Corey Perry turned the puck over right to Matt Martin, who spun around and fired the puck past Brian Elliott for his first goal of the season. With only a couple minutes to go in the frame, however, Brayden Point’s shot ramped off Noah Dobson’s stick and while it didn’t find its way in, Brandon Hagel was there to bury the rebound. Despite New York outshooting Tampa Bay 11-7 in the opening frame, they found themselves down 2-1 after 20 minutes.
Things got worse for the Islanders early in the second period, as Pierre-Edouard Bellemare got a pass out front to Corey Perry, who tapped it in to extend Tampa Bay’s lead. Later in the period though, Anthony Beauvillier took a pass on a rush and backhanded a shot that somehow got through Elliott, cutting the lead to one. As it looked like the period would end at 3-2, however, the Islanders gave up possession on a zone exit and Nick Paul came down the wing, beating Sorokin to double the lead with under a second to go in the period.
Though New York couldn’t convert on a power play early in the third period, shortly after it expired, Ryan Pulock intercepted a clearing attempt and walked in, before firing a shot past Elliott to make it a 4-3 game. New York continued to press and were outshooting the Lightning by quite a margin in the third period but with under six minutes to go, a puck popped out to Alex Killorn in front on a rush and he buried it, making it a two-goal game. The Islanders couldn’t come back after that, as they fell 5-3.
The Islanders actually put together a pretty strong game tonight, with a really good first period and a solid final frame. They outshot the Lightning by a 35-26 margin and really weren’t allowing a ton of chances throughout the game.
There were some avoidable chances given up that led to goals but Ilya Sorokin also wasn’t really on his game. While the Islanders didn’t get the win, it was still a very different game from their loss to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. The effort from New York but there but some untimely goals sunk them.
The Islanders will be right back in action tomorrow, as they face the Florida Panthers.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM OCTOBER
Islanders sign Mathew Barzal to eight-year contract extension
Islanders announce opening night roster
Andy Greene announces retirement
Islanders fall short against Panthers in season opener
Islanders blow out Ducks, Lane Lambert picks up first win as NHL head coach
Islanders earn another home win, defeat Sharks 5-2
Islanders fall flat in loss to Devils 
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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