After a big win over the Capitals in the opener, the Lightning came crashing back to Earth. The Islanders scored three times in the second period and held off a late surge by the Lightning for the 4-3 win at the Nassau Coliseum. Both teams are now 1-1 on the season.
A pair of fights broke out even before the opening faceoff. Bolts tough guy B.J. Crombeen and Matt Martin of the Islanders went at it. At the same time, Pierre Cedric-Labrie dropped the gloves and started slugging Joe Finley of the Isles. A whopping 24 penalty minutes was handed out before the game began. Once play began, the pace was sluggish. The Bolts were 0 for 2 on the power play in the opening period. Anders Lindback made 10 saves in the 1st period, which ended scoreless. Islanders outshot the Lightning 10-7 in the opening period.
The second period proved to be an awful one for Tampa Bay. Islanders got on the board first when Michael Grabner beat Lindback on a breakaway for a power play goal to make it 1-0 at the 5:38 mark. The Bolts got on the power play late in the second period when Matt Martin was whistled for holding Martin St. Louis. The Lightning failed to score and to make matters worse, Martin came out of the box and scored on a breakaway to make it 1-0 Islanders. Just over a minute later, the Isles score again when Kyle Okposo beat Lindback on a 2-on-1 to make it 3-0 Islanders after two periods of play.
The Islanders made it 4-0 early in the third period when David Ullstrom scored. A short time later, the Bolts got on the board when Martin St. Louis scored his 3rd goal of the season to make it 4-1 New York. Then, Ben Pouliot lit the lamp to make it 4-2 Islanders with 12:34 left. Just 34-seconds later, the Bolts struck again when Steven Stamkos scored his first goal of the season to make it 4-3 Islanders. The Bolts took two bad penalties late and couldn’t get the equalizer late. Lindback was put in a bad position at times and came up with 40 saves. The Bolts were outshot 44-26. Bolts are back in action tomorrow night when they skate in Carolina. Coverage begins at 6:30pm on 970 WFLA.
