Anthony Cirelli notched two goals and an assist as the Tampa Bay Lightning extended their point streak to nine games in a 4-1 win over the visiting New York Islanders on Saturday night.
Steven Stamkos potted his 545th career marker, moving him past Maurice Richard and into 32nd in all-time goals.
Darren Raddysh found the net, and Brandon Hagel set a career high with 66 points in a season with two assists. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves in his 28th win.
Earning wins in two of the three games in the season series, the Lightning (41-25-7, 89 points) moved to 8-0-1 in the past nine matches and 9-1-1 in March.
New York’s Kyle Palmieri scored, Mike Reilly assisted for his 100th career point, and goalie Semyon Varlamov posted 36 saves.
The Islanders (31-27-15, 77 points) slipped to 2-7-1 in the past 10 matches and 6-7-1 in the month.
A 3-2 winner over the Florida Panthers Thursday night in Sunrise, Fla., the Islanders tallied in the first period by way of a bounce on Palmieri’s shot that caromed off Mathew Dumba for his 24th goal at 2:25.
It was all Lightning for the remainder of the period as they rallied with two quick goals, the first on the power play.
With New York’s Adam Pelech off for tripping, Raddysh cranked a slap shot from the point that beat Varlamov at 14:25, the defenseman’s sixth tally. Cirelli and Nikita Kucherov recorded assists.
Just 35 seconds later, Cirelli hit the net for a 2-1 lead, with Nick Perbix and Hagel getting helpers.
Tampa Bay completely overwhelmed the Islanders in a purely dominant opening 20 minutes with a 21-6 shot advantage.
However, just as the Islanders appeared to be ready to be run out of downtown Tampa, they stiffened, sent pucks deep into the offensive zone and played a much better second period just as they did against the Panthers.
New York outshot the Lightning 15-8 in the scoreless, penalty-free frame. Vasilevskiy’s best save was on Pierre Engvall’s 16-foot wrister through the slot with 1:38 left.
In the first minute of the third, Stamkos tipped in a high shot that was over five feet wide of the cage. After reviewing it for a high stick, officials allowed the captain’s 30th goal to stand for a 3-1 lead.
Kucherov recorded his second assist on Cirelli’s empty-net goal, his 18th marker, at 17:14 to cap the scoring.
–Field Level Media
