Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Islanders
· National Hockey LeagueGuentzel, Vasilevskiy help Lightning beat Islanders 4-1 for 4th straight win
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored his 20th of the season, Victor Hedman also scored and Nick Paul added an empty-netter for the Lightning. Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point each added two assists.
Bo Horvat scored a short-handed goal for New York and Ilya Sorokin made 19 saves as the Islanders lost their sixth straight (0-4-2), further diminishing their slim playoff hopes.
Guentzel scored the tiebreaking goal at 8:09 of the second period. Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech inexplicably left Guentzel alone and Kucherov delivered a beautiful pass to set up the go-ahead goal.
Hedman made it 3-1 about 2 1/2 minutes later, and Paul capped the scoring into an empty net with 3 1/2 minutes left in the third.
Islanders: Sorokin started four of the Islanders previous six losses, allowing 14 goals during that stretch.
TB wins series 2-1
Scoring Summary
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Goal | 1st Period 8:46 | Oliver Bjorkstrand Goal (20) Tip-In, assists: Darren Raddysh (30), Brayden Point (36) |
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Goal | 1st Period 10:57 | Bo Horvat Goal (25) Snap Shot, assists: Ryan Pulock (16) |
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Goal | 2nd Period 8:09 | Jake Guentzel Goal (38) Wrist Shot, assists: Nikita Kucherov (77), Brayden Point (37) |
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Goal | 2nd Period 10:41 | Victor Hedman Goal (14) Snap Shot, assists: Nikita Kucherov (78), Jake Guentzel (36) |
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Goal | 3rd Period 16:29 | Nick Paul Goal (22) Wrist Shot, assists: Anthony Cirelli (27), Erik Cernak (18) |
Statistics
TB |
NYI |
|
|---|---|---|
| 21 | Blocked Shots | 13 |
| 14 | Hits | 25 |
| 1 | Takeaways | 1 |
| 24 | Shots | 29 |
| 0 | Power Play Goals | 0 |
| 4 | Power Play Opportunities | 4 |
| 0.0 | Power Play Percentage | 0.0 |
| 0 | Short Handed Goals | 1 |
| 0 | Shootout Goals | 0 |
| 23 | Faceoffs Won | 29 |
| 44.2 | Faceoff Win Percent | 55.8 |
| 13 | Giveaways | 16 |
| 6 | Total Penalties | 6 |
| 15 | Penalty Minutes | 15 |
New York Islanders Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Bo Horvat, C | Out | Dec 12 |
| Kyle Palmieri, C | Injured Reserve | Nov 30 |
Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Emil Lilleberg, D | Day-To-Day | Dec 13 |
| Erik Cernak, D | Injured Reserve | Dec 13 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy, G | Injured Reserve | Dec 12 |
| Victor Hedman, D | Injured Reserve | Dec 12 |
Game Information
UBS Arena
Location: Elmont, NY
Attendance: 14,827 | Capacity:
Location: Elmont, NY
Attendance: 14,827 | Capacity:
2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PTS | OTL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tampa Bay |
18 | 11 | 39 | 3 |
Detroit |
18 | 12 | 39 | 3 |
Boston |
19 | 13 | 38 | 0 |
Montreal |
16 | 11 | 36 | 4 |
Florida |
16 | 13 | 34 | 2 |
Toronto |
14 | 12 | 33 | 5 |
Ottawa |
14 | 13 | 32 | 4 |
Buffalo |
13 | 14 | 30 | 4 |
2025-26 Metropolitan Division Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PTS | OTL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Carolina |
20 | 9 | 42 | 2 |
NY Islanders |
19 | 11 | 41 | 3 |
Washington |
18 | 10 | 40 | 4 |
Philadelphia |
16 | 9 | 37 | 5 |
New Jersey |
18 | 13 | 37 | 1 |
Pittsburgh |
14 | 8 | 36 | 8 |
NY Rangers |
16 | 13 | 36 | 4 |
Columbus |
13 | 13 | 32 | 6 |




TB
NYI
Tampa Bay
Detroit
Boston
Montreal
Florida
Toronto
Ottawa
Buffalo
Carolina
NY Islanders
Washington
Philadelphia
New Jersey
Pittsburgh
NY Rangers
Columbus