Hockey Islanders escape with blowout win in Tampa by Chris Passarelli December 9, 2019 The title of this article may seem misleading but it’s the truth; The Islanders escaped with a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night. The reason? Tampa Bay controlled almost half of the game but couldn’t capitalize on any of their chances. The Islanders were able to do so, both with hard work and a little puck luck. After a very impressive scoreless first period by the Islanders, they got scoring from some unlikely sources. The first goal of the game was scored by noted sniper Ross Johnston, who has recently gotten some time on the first line with Mathew Barzal and Josh Bailey. The aforementioned Bailey increased the lead to 2-0 on a Tampa Power Play. Casey Cizikas dove and poked the puck to a wide open Bailey, who went on a breakaway and beat Curtis McElhinney up high. Unfortunately for the Islanders, they couldn’t keep the Lightning off the scoresheet as Steven Stamkos pushed Derick Brassard off in the slot and backhanded one past a diving Semyon Varlamov. The Islanders were on their toes for about the first six minutes of the third period. Tampa kept it in their zone for almost the entirety of that span, including a PP that produced nothing. The Islanders were able to weather the storm (no pun intended) and score a goal after the onslaught. Brock Nelson took a bad bounce off the boards and chipped one into the net on a second effort. Nelson later scored his second goal of the game off a beautiful feed to the slot by Anders Lee. Lee got a goal of his own on the Islanders’ PP late, tipping a Josh Bailey shot-pass into the net to seal the deal. Semyon Varlamov was excellent with 31 saves on 32 shots. The Islanders took the game 5-1 and are now 1-1-0 on their three game road trip. Their next game is in South Florida against the Panthers on Thursday. This is the third fastest the Islanders have reached 20 wins in franchise history. Post Views: 825 The following two tabs change content below.BioLatest Posts Chris Passarelli Football Editor - Hockey Editor - New York Islanders Lead Writer - New York Lizards Lead Writer - UConn Football Lead Writer Latest posts by Chris Passarelli (see all) NFL Network to Premiere ‘The Top 100 Players of 2020’ on July 26 - July 22, 2020 The ‘Toilet Bowl’ may be coming to Western New York - July 16, 2020 Bigger is Better; SoFi Stadium Completes Largest Videoboard in Sports - July 1, 2020 Smoltz, Vrabel and Brown talk American Century Championship and Everything in Between - June 30, 2020 Related TopicsAnders LeeBrock Nelsonmathew barzalNew York Islandersross johnstonTampa Bay Lightning Click to comment You must be logged in to post a comment Login Leave a Reply Cancel replyYou must be logged in to post a comment. Newsletter Subscription Can't Miss Posts! Women in Sports: NHL Network Host, Jackie Redmond by Nicholas Durst | posted on March 4, 2019 Women in Sports: Podcast Host, New York Riptide Sideline Reporter, Dani Wexelman by Luke Porco | posted on March 3, 2020 From Paramus High School to CBS Sports, Spero Dedes is making waves in sports broadcasting by Sunil Sunder Raj | posted on October 27, 2020 Lochte, Dressel and Ledecky all Chasing Gold at 2021 Tokyo Olympics by Anthony Paradiso | posted on April 18, 2021 You Know I’m Right, Episode 109: The Athletic’s Marc Carig (Audio/Video) by Nicholas Durst | posted on April 19, 2021 More in Hockey Tim Peel is Discharged After Caught on Hot Mic Tim Peel was Discharged from the NHL After He was Caught on the Hot... NHL, Amazon Web Services Partner to Develop New Stats, Data, and Insights The National Hockey League (NHL) is partnering with Amazon Web Services (AWS) in an... You Know I’m Right, Episode 81: ESPN’s Arda Ocal (Audio/Video) On the 81st episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... You Know I’m Right, Episode 80: MSG Network’s Bill Pidto (Audio/Video) On the 80th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... 5 Minute Major – Season 3, Episode 8 – The Flyers are buzzing (Audio) Panarin and Zibanejad Lead Rangers Back Home after Good Trip to West Coast