Uniondale, NY (My Sportsbook) - The
Tampa Bay Lightning try to halt a three- game winless slide tonight when they visit the
New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.
Tampa is 0-1-1-1 on the heels of a two-game winning streak, including Saturday's 4-4 tie with the Panthers in South Florida. The Lightning held a 4-1 lead into the second period, but allowed the Cats to score three unanswered tallies en route to the stalemate. Rookie Florida defenseman Jay Bouwmeester knotted the contest on a power-play goal with 12 seconds left in regulation.
Nolan Pratt, Dave Andreychuk, Brad Richards and Alexander Svitov scored for the Lightning, while Nikolai Khabibulin made 22 saves. Andreychuk's goal, his 608th, tied him with Dino Ciccarelli for 12th place on the NHL's all-time list.
Khabibulin's winless streak was extended to eight starts (0-5-3), and he has allowed three goals or more in all but one of those outings.
The Bolts enter tonight's action with 57 points, which is good for second place in the Southeast Division. Washington leads the race with 62 points.
Tampa Bay, 2-6-2 in its last 10 road games, will visit Atlanta on Friday.
New York, meanwhile, snapped a two-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over Buffalo on Saturday and is 3-2 in its last five. Against the Sabres, Arron Asham, Oleg Kvasha and Shawn Bates scored third-period goals to provide the difference as the Isles came back from a 1-0 deficit. Kvasha's tally, his eighth of the season, broke a 1-1 tie 8:42 into the final frame.
Kvasha has managed five points in his last five games after recording a mere nine in his first 36 matches. For the season he has posted six goals and eight assists.
The Islanders, at 57 points, are tied for seventh in the Eastern Conference with Tampa Bay -- one ahead of ninth-place Montreal. New York, which has won four of its last six on home ice, will kick off a four-game road trip Thursday in Nashville.
New York and Tampa Bay have split two meetings this season, both in the Sunshine State. The Lightning snapped a five-game series losing streak with a 4-3 win on December 14. The Bolts have lost in their last two trips to Long Island.
