National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Tampa Bay 3, NY Islanders 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Where: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Referees: Gord Dwyer, Dan O'Halloran
Linesmen: Steve Barton, Brian Murphy
Attendance: 13618

Lightning 3, Islanders 2 (SO): Valtteri Filppula scored his second goal to tie it with 3.8 seconds left in regulation and also converted in the first round of the shootout as visiting Tampa Bay rallied to beat New York.

Filppula tallied with 2:53 left in regulation and knotted it after a wild scramble in front of the net for his 12th goal. Nikita Kucherov also scored in the shootout and Ben Bishop made 32 saves for the Lightning, who finished their three-game road trip 2-1-0 and will play four of the next five at home.

Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen each scored for the Islanders, who have not won in regulation since Nov. 12 against Nashville. Nielsen also tallied in the shootout and Evgeni Nabokov turned aside 34 shots in his second game back from a groin injury.

After a scoreless first period, Okposo hammered a low shot from the high slot through a crowd 11 seconds into the middle session for a power-play goal. Bishop kept it right there, stopping Nielsen on a 2-on-none break and John Tavares alone in front soon after the goal.

Michael Grabner slid a nifty pass to Nielsen on a 2-on-1 and he beat Bishop stick side with 9:39 remaining for a 2-0 lead. Filppula cut the deficit in half with 2:53 left and was in the right place to tap a loose puck into the right side of an open net in the final seconds.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Tampa Bay D Victor Hedman missed his sixth straight game with a lower-body injury, but has been skating with the team and could return as soon as Thursday against Nashville. … Islanders D Andrew MacDonald, who leads the league in blocked shots, had five in the first two periods and seven overall. … Tampa Bay RW B.J. Crombeen was back in the lineup as the Lightning scratched LW Dana Tyrell and LW Pierre-Cedric Labrie.
Top Game Performances
 
Tampa Bay   NY Islanders
Valtteri Filppula 2 Points Frans Nielsen 1
Valtteri Filppula 2 Goals Frans Nielsen 1
J.T. Brown 1 Assists Michael Grabner 1
N/A Power Play Goals Kyle Okposo 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Ben Bishop .941 Save Percentage Evgeni Nabokov .944
Ben Bishop 32 Saves Evgeni Nabokov 34
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Tampa Bay 36 3 0-1 1-2 9 25
NY Islanders 34 2 1-2 1-1 7 34
Upcoming Games
  • NY Islanders will play their next game on the road against NY Rangers. The Islanders have a W/L % of .200 after a win and .280 after a loss.
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against Nashville. The Lightning have a W/L % of .579 after a win and .600 after a loss.