NY Islanders playoff hopes slipping away fast after sixth straight loss

The New York Islanders' slim playoff hopes got slimmer on Tuesday night as they fell 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning, extending their losing streak to six games (0-4-2). The Isles' loss, coupled with a come-from-behind OT win by the Montreal Canadiens over the Florida Panthers, has New York five points out of a playoff spot with eight games to play in the regular season. The Columbus Blue Jackets also beat Nashville and are now three up on the Isles, and Detroit earned a point against St. Louis to jump ahead of the Isles as well.

Bo Horvat provided the lone bright spot for New York, scoring a short-handed goal in the first period to briefly tie the game. Ilya Sorokin made 19 saves, but the Islanders struggled to generate offense and break through Tampa Bay’s defense. Despite outshooting Tampa Bay 29-23, the Islanders couldn’t solve Andrei Vasilevskiy, who stopped 28 shots.

Jake Guentzel scored the go-ahead goal in the second period after being left unmarked in front, capitalizing on a slick feed from Nikita Kucherov. Victor Hedman added to the Lightning’s lead just minutes later, and Nick Paul sealed the game with an empty-netter late in the third.

“You feel like you don't give them much all night, and then all sudden, you give them two breaks, and it's in the back of the net,” Horvat said. “With a line like that, you almost have to play a perfect game and limit their opportunities. And we just didn't do a good enough job of that tonight.”

The Islanders next take the ice on Friday night against the Minnesota Wild. Face-off from UBS Arena in Elmont, NY is at 7:30 PM EDT.