National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
NY Islanders 4, Tampa Bay 3
When: 1:00 PM ET, Monday, January 21, 2013
Where: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Referees: Dennis LaRue, Mark Lemelin
Linesmen: Greg Devorski, Brian Mach
Attendance: 15322

Islanders 4, Lightning 3: David Ullstrom scored and John Tavares recorded two assists as New York built a four-goal lead and held off a furious rally by visiting Tampa Bay for its first victory of the season.

Michael Grabner, Matt Martin and Kyle Okposo scored in the second period and Ullstrom gave the Islanders a 4-0 advantage 1:31 into the third. The lead was trimmed to one at 4-3 with 12 minutes remaining, but New York defeated Tampa Bay for the seventh time in 10 contests to spoil the 1,000th NHL game for Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier.

Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis had a goal and an assist apiece, while rookie Cory Conacher added a pair of assists for the Lightning. Stamkos knocked home Conacher's pass for the Lightning’s third goal in 5:38 to bring them within one and St. Louis hit the post late in the game.

Tampa Bay took three consecutive penalties midway through the second period and the Islanders capitalized on one to break a scoreless tie. Grabner accepted a long stretch pass from blue-liner Mark Streit, warded off defenseman Eric Brewer and slipped the puck past Anders Lindback (40 saves) at 6:50.

Martin extended the lead, coming directly out of the penalty box to meet a long clear by Tavares and converting the breakaway at 16:23. Okposo made it 3-0, beating Lindback with a wrist shot from the left circle after a pass from Tavares.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Lecavalier is among a select group that has played 1,000 NHL games with the same team, including Lightning GM Steve Yzerman (Detroit). … Islanders coach Jack Capuano returned to the bench after missing the opener due to kidney stones. … Evgeni Nabokov made 23 saves for the victory.
Top Game Performances
 
Tampa Bay   NY Islanders
Martin St. Louis 2 Points John Tavares 2
Martin St. Louis 1 Goals Michael Grabner 1
Cory Conacher 2 Assists John Tavares 2
N/A Power Play Goals Michael Grabner 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Anders Lindback .909 Save Percentage Evgeni Nabokov .885
Anders Lindback 40 Saves Evgeni Nabokov 23
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Tampa Bay 26 3 0-3 6-7 26 35
NY Islanders 44 4 1-7 3-3 18 31
Upcoming Games
  • NY Islanders will play their next game on the road against Toronto. The Islanders have a W/L % of .000 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Carolina. The Lightning have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.