Lightning visit Islanders in clash of East heavyweights

The New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning are both trying to cement themselves as contenders despite the absence of multiple key players.

The New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning are both trying to cement themselves as contenders despite the absence of multiple key players.

They will continue their fight for the top spot in the Eastern Conference on Saturday afternoon when the Islanders host the Lightning in Elmont, N.Y.

Both teams were off Friday after earning lopsided victories Thursday night, when the Islanders beat the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 and the visiting Lightning defeated the New Jersey Devils 8-4.

The Islanders' fifth win in their last six games was marred by the loss of leading scorer Bo Horvat, who didn't return after he received a lower-body injury while tangled up with Ducks defenseman Drew Helleson in the second period.

Head coach Patrick Roy said following practice Friday that Horvat, who has 19 goals and 31 points, is day-to-day.

The Islanders lost defenseman Alexander Romanov (shoulder) and right winger Kyle Palmieri (torn ACL) to season-ending injuries last month. But New York is 7-4-1 since Romanov was injured and is 5-2-0 without Palmieri. The latter stretch includes two wins over the Lightning.

The Islanders, who finished 12th in the Eastern Conference last year, have 39 points -- one fewer than the East co-leading Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals, each of whom also play Saturday.

"We've lost some extremely key players and we continue to just push through," said Islanders captain Anders Lee, who had two goals and two assists Thursday. "There's a reason why it's so tough to get in (the playoffs). Things like this happen and adversity happens. It's almost a little bit of a war of attrition in way right now. We're plugging the holes."

Figuring out a way to win at less than full strength is nothing new for the Lightning, who rolled to victory Thursday hours after placing defenseman and captain Victor Hedman on injured reserve. The Lightning revealed Friday that Hedman had aggravated an elbow injury that caused him to miss 12 games earlier in the season, and he will be sidelined till around February after he undergoes surgery Monday.

Hedman is joined on injured reserve by defensemen Erik Cernak and Ryan McDonagh as well as goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. All four were part of the Lightning's back-to-back Stanley Cup winners in 2020 and 2021, when Tampa Bay survived six- and seven-game series, respectively, against the Islanders to reach the Stanley Cup Final.

The Lightning are 10-6-0 without McDonagh, who last played Nov. 8, and 6-4-0 without Cernak, who hasn't suited up since Nov. 22. Tampa Bay is 2-3-0 without Vasilevskiy in net, but has won its last two games.

This week's road wins over the Canadiens and Devils followed a four-game losing streak for the Lightning, who are tied with the Boston Bruins atop the Atlantic Division with 38 points.

"Just happy that we were able to stop that skid," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "Because it's tough -- you lose four in a row, whatever small little lead you had is gone. So to jump on the road here and pick a couple up is good."

--Field Level Media