LDN - Sports

Lightning shut out Islanders

[November 15, 2016] NEW YORK -- Barring an unlikely meeting in the playoffs next spring, the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders aren't scheduled to play again until the 2017-18 season.

Too bad, for the Lightning -- and too soon, for the Islanders.

J.T. Brown and Ryan Callahan scored during a 42-second span late in the first period on Monday night and Andrei Vasilevskiy authored his third career shutout by stopping all 34 shots he faced as the Lightning completed a season sweep of the Islanders with a 4-0 win Monday night at Barclays Center.

The sweep was as dominant as it was swift: The Lightning (9-6-1) outscored the Islanders 14-2 in three games, all played since Nov. 1.

"I'm sure they're happy to be done with us," said Lightning center Steven Stamkos, who assisted on a pair of second-period goals. "We're ready to move on too. We did our job against them, against a good team that we faced in the playoffs."

Tampa Bay has outscored New York 29-8 in winning the last seven games between the teams dating back to Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals last May.

"We've beat them seven straight in a short amount of time -- it's weird, very end of the year last year and now the start of this season," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. "It's just one of those things, when you've been on a roll against a tea, you hope you can keep it going. I've been on both sides of this. It's tough when you're on the other side. But that's it (and) we don't see the Islanders now again for another year."

The big question for the Islanders might be whether or not head coach Jack Capuano survives to see another game. New York had high hopes following last season's trip to the conference semifinals -- its first since 1993 -- but is just 5-8-3 this season and has lost three straight (0-2-1) and six of seven (1-3-3).

An announced crowd of 12,498 booed and chanted for the firing of head coach Jack Capuano while watching the Islanders, who have the second-fewest point in the East, fall six points out of a playoff spot. New York has scored three goals or fewer in all 11 of its losses.

"I understand the frustration of the fans, I understand the frustration of the players," Capuano said. "For me, as a coach, I'm behind these guys and I want them to succeed. And they're doing some good things. It's just unfortunate right now that I haven't found a way to get more offense out of this group."

Capuano, the second-longest tenured coach in franchise history behind four-time Stanley Cup winner Al Arbour, said he was not worried about the possibility of losing his job. The Islanders have three days off before hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.

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Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) prepares for a shot as New York Islanders left wing Andrew Ladd (16) waits to deflect the puck during the third period at Barclays Center. Tampa Bay won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

"I can only control what I can control --I tell my kids the same thing," Capuano said. "That's not my decision."

The Lightning, who have alternated wins with losses in its last seven games, removed most of the suspense in the waning moments of the first period Monday night, when Brown scored with 1:02 remaining and Callahan redirected a shot by Andrej Sustr with just under 20 seconds to go.

"There wasn't a whole lot going on in the game and then we got that little burst at the end," Cooper said "I'm sure (the Islanders) had a little bit of the feeling 'here we go again,' and that was a big help for us."

Nikita Kucherov and Vladislav Namestinikov scored in a span of 2:38 late in the second period for the Lightning. The Islanders, who had just 14 shots in the first two periods, fired 20 shots in the final 20 minutes but could not get the puck past Vasilevskiy, who earned his first shutout since Jan. 27.

"Obviously it's a tough spot to be in when you're down three, four to nothing," Islanders center and captain John Tavares said.

Goalie Jaroslav Halak had 27 saves.

NOTES: The Lightning have swept the Islanders in the season series four times. This marks just the second time New York has failed to earn a point against Tampa Bay (1995). ... Islanders D Travis Hamonic returned to the lineup after missing just three games with a broken thumb. Hamonic was expected to miss four to six weeks after suffering the injury on Nov. 5 but said he felt fine while working out last week and he could carry the puck as usual. ... The Islanders scratched G Jean-Francois Berube, C Shane Prince and C Alan Quine. ... The Lightning scratched D Anton Stralman (upper body injury) as well as D Luke Witkowski, the latter of whom was recalled from Syracuse earlier Monday.

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