By Jake Ricker
The Tampa Bay Lightning looked to bounce back after a devastating loss to the New York Rangers. Here is how they stacked up against the Islanders.
Stamkos-Point-Kucherov
Hagel-Cirelli-Paul
Eyssimont-Motte-Sheary
Watson-Glendening-Chaffee
Hedman-Raddysh
Lilleberg-Cernak
de Haan-Perbix
Johansson
Here are the biggest takeaways from the Lightning's 6-2 Loss against the Islanders.
Johansson
Johansson does not get to play often, and he has been one of the bright spots for the Lightning for the majority of the year, especially when filling in for Vasilevskiy early in the season. And while he did make some big saves to keep the Lightning in the game early in the first, things did not get better as the game went on.
Johansson let in a lot of goals that he would have liked to have back, including a five-hole goal scored late in the second to make it 6-2. It's hard to blame it all on Johansson with how the Lightning defense played, but this wasn't a perfect game for Johansson either.
Defense
The Lightning defense let in bad habits into their game tonight as they gave the Islanders way too much time and room in this game. This has been an issue we have talked about all season long, but it had looked to at least have started to go away with the team's last winning streak.
Sure, the Lightning were playing on a back-to-back and were playing without Sergachev, but this defense had way too many missed assignments and just lazy play for those excuses to work. And it's not just the defenders like de Haan and Cernak. It's the forwards, too, who are not playing well in their own zone.
The Lightning were already in the market for a defenseman before tonight, and now, With Sergachev's injury, the Lightning could make a bigger splash at this position, which could be exactly what they need. Nikta Kucherov
Let's end on a positive note as Nikita Kucherov continues to play amazing hockey. Kucherov had a goal tonight and now has 86 points on the year which extends his lead to two. Kucherov just looks like a magician out there, making passes that most players aren't even expecting. While his defense is far from perfect, his offensive output more than makes up for it.
Final Thoughts
No, the Lightning are not out of it by a long shot. They are still right in the thick of the wild card race, and this team is more capable of starting another winning streak. With that said, this was not a good game for the Lightning on any level. The defense was bad, there was not much-sustained pressure, and in a game against the Islanders, who are right behind them in the wild card race, you hoped for a little more effort. What's done is done, though, and the Lightning will have to look to rebound against the Blue Jackets.
Three Stars
Media's three-stars
1. Barzal (1G,1A)
2. Horvat (1G,1A)
3. Cizikas (1G)
Our three-stars
1. Barzal (1G,1A)
2. Horvat (1G,1A)
3. Sorokin (18 SV)
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