Game Preview: Islanders vs. Lightning

FLASH NOTES

Tampa Bay won its second straight game on Thursday, beating the New Jersey Devils 8-4. Oliver Bjorkstrand (2G) scored twice while Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point, Darren Raddysh, Nick Paul and Pontus Holmberg all found the back of the net. Jonas Johansson made 33 saves on 37 shots faced.

Nikita Kucherov had four assists in the 8-4 victory. Kucherov now has seven games with four assists in his career and his 34th career four-point game. Only Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid have more four-point games among active NHL players.

Andrei Vasilevskiy (undisclosed) was placed on IR on Monday. Vasilevskiy hasn’t played since the Lightning’s 2-1 loss to the Islanders on Dec. 2. He is 11-6-2 with a 2.31 GAA, .917 SV% and one shutout this season. Vasilevskiy practiced with the team on Friday, but he will not play because his IR designation means he will have to miss at least seven days.

Jonas Johansson has shouldered most of the workload with Vasilevskiy, as he has started five straight games for the Lightning. He is 2-3-0 with a 2.26 GAA and a 0.920 SV% in that stretch. Johansson is 1-4-0 with a 3.86 GAA and 0.877 SV% against the Islanders in his career.

Victor Hedman was placed back on IR on Thursday and is expected to be out until early February, just before the 2026 Winter Olympics. Hedman missed nearly a month with injury until returning to action on Dec. 6 against the Isles. He played in three straight games before returning to IR.

Dominic James is listed daily. James scored Tampa Bay’s only goal in their two meetings with the Islanders. The rookie has five points (2G, 3A) in 19 games this season.

Tampa Bay has the second-best penalty kill percentage in the NHL at 85.9%.

On the power play, the Lightning rank 22nd in the NHL (17.9%), but they took advantage of two of their three man advantage opportunities Thursday night.

Tampa Bay is 10-4-2 on the road this season, including 2-2-0 in December.