Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov power the Lightning to a 5-3 win over the Islanders
Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov power the Lightning to a 5-3 win over the Islanders
New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) protects the net during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) skates around the goal during a timeout during an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars in Dallas, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) skates around the goal during a timeout during an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars in Dallas, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) protects the net during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) skates around the goal during a timeout during an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars in Dallas, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Brayden Point scored twice and Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 5-3 on Saturday.
Nick Perbix and Jake Guentzel also scored for the Lightning. Jonas Johansson made 35 stops.
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Marc Gatcomb, Anthony DeAngelo and Ryan Pulock scored for the Islanders, who lost their fourth straight game. Ilya Sorokin made 19 saves.
The Lightning won their third straight and matched the idle Florida Panthers' 91 points atop the tight Atlantic Division, where the Toronto Maple Leafs entered Saturday night's game against the Los Angeles Kings just a point back.
Takeaways
Islanders: At 32-20-10, New York is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference wild-card race with 74 points. The Islanders trail Ottawa (81), Columbus (75), Montreal (75) and the New York Rangers (75) with Saturday's slate of games remaining.
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Lightning: After a rematch with the Islanders on Monday in the opener of a four-game trip, Tampa Bay is at Ottawa, Buffalo and the Rangers, through a week from Monday.
Key moment
Kucherov and Perbix scored in the first 7:31 of the game to give the Lightning an early advantage. Point scored late in the first and second periods to extend the advantage to four goals before the Islanders clawed back with three unanswered goals in the first nine minutes of the third, making it 4-3. Guentzel's empty-netter sealed the win
Key stat
Kucherov scored on the Islanders' first shot, at 2:02 of the first to fuel the fast start.
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The Lightning play at the Islanders on Tuesday. New York is at the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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