TAMPA, Fla. — For a second time in less than a week, the Islanders didn’t play particularly well against the Lightning.
And for the second time in less than a week, the Islanders beat the Lightning anyway.
Another superlative outing from Ilya Sorokin carried the Islanders to a 2-0 win over Tampa at Benchmark International Arena, giving Mathieu Darche the victory over his old employer in his first game back in Florida.
Generously, you could say the Islanders grinded out a road win.
More accurately, Sorokin kept them in the game until they finally broke through on Cal Ritchie’s through-the-legs power-play goal in the third, and the Islanders saw it out from there.
Defensively, the structure that was strong throughout the recent seven-game homestand was more brittle than the Islanders would have liked.
From the jump, the Lightning were able to generate chances around the crease and cycle the puck.
Sorokin, though, is playing as well as he has in the past two years right now and aside from his puck-handling — which produced another scary moment in the first period when he mishit an attempt to rim it around the boards — there’s no part of his game that looks vulnerable.
Scott Mayfield and Anthony Duclair both hit the post during the second period, but in the main, the only reason the Islanders weren’t staring down a blowout entering the third was standing in the crease.
Tampa had produced 12 high-danger chances through 40 minutes, including a scramble at the crease on which Sorokin lost his stick during a Lightning power play, and still somehow it was scoreless.
The Islanders finally got their chance when Brandon Hagel took a double-minor high-sticking penalty at 10:14 of the third, the call drawing vehement disagreement from Lightning coach Jon Cooper.
Cal Ritchie converted 2:31 into the four-minute power play and 12:45 into the third, taking a rebound off the end boards and scoring through his legs at the left post.
A highlight-reel goal, on a night with exceedingly few highlights.
Ritchie talked earlier this week about how he is playing with more confidence and less fear of making mistakes.
And here it was, handing the Islanders two of the hardest-won points they’ve earned all season.
The Lightning were not without chances the rest of the way, but Sorokin, imperious all night long, was not going to let this one out of his grasp.
Casey Cizikas finally sealed it with an empty-net goal with 1.6 seconds remaining.
The Islanders, of course, cannot be blamed for taking an opportunity and running with it.
Nor can they be blamed for feeling some pride with a three-game winning streak in hand, all over Stanley Cup contenders and the last two with their fathers and mentors in the house.
The two points allowed them to hop over the Penguins for third in the Metropolitan Division — albeit with three more games played — and keep pace one point behind the Hurricanes.
And, though it doesn’t affect their playoff prospects at the moment, it will be a point of pride for Darche that with 35 points, the Islanders now have one more than the Lightning, thanks to their two wins over Tampa in a matter of days.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
