Kucherov, Lightning defeat Islanders, gain in Atlantic race

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Nikita Kucherov had two assists and extended his point streak to nine games, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-1 win against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Tuesday.

Kucherov has 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) during his streak, including 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in his past four games. He leads the NHL with 111 points (33 goals, 78 assists), one ahead of Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche.

“He’s just world-class. Demands a lot of himself,” Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said of Kucherov. “His passion and his will to play at a high level are second to none. He’s as committed a hockey player as I’ve been a part of as a teammate. He knows he’s counted on in a lot of situations for us, and he’s obviously a key player for us if we are going to have success down the stretch here and where we want to get to in the playoffs.”

Jake Guentzel had a goal and an assist, and Brayden Point had two assists for the Lightning (44-25-5), who have won four straight. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves.

Tampa Bay moved within one point of the Toronto Maple Leafs for first place in the Atlantic Division and leads the Florida Panthers by one point for second.

“It gets tough down the stretch. You’re battling for a position,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “They gave us everything we could handle the other night in Tampa (a 5-3 win on Saturday to begin the home-and-home). They definitely had our attention. This is just one of those games that’s tight halfway through, and then we get those two goals two minutes apart, and then we defended our way through that. They’re a tough team to play. They’re always in your face. I thought our guys handled it much better tonight than on Saturday.”

Bo Horvat scored, and Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves for the Islanders (32-32-10), who have lost six straight (0-4-2). They trail the Montreal Canadiens by five points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

New York was 0-for-4 on the power play.

“Obviously, we have to win,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “… There's key moments in the game, I mean, the 5-on-3 (in the second period) and the power play that followed that was a key moment in that game, and we didn't take advantage of it. … We gave up, what, two scoring chances that second period. But when we make a mistake, we make a pretty good one. We give up a 3-on-1, we leave someone all alone in front of the net. I mean, these are mistakes that we can't make if we want to win against a team like that. I mean, Point and Kucherov, those two guys, if you give them time and space and chances, they're burying.”

Vasilevskiy denied Horvat’s breakaway chance at 6:48 of the first, getting a glove on the backhand try.

Oliver Bjorkstrand then gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 8:46. He scored in the low slot by deflecting a Darren Raddysh point shot past Sorokin’s blocker.

Horvat tied it 1-1 at 10:57 with a short-handed goal off the rush. After corralling a loose puck in the New York zone, Horvat skated up the ice on a 2-on-1 before beating Vasilevskiy under the blocker from the right face-off circle.

Guentzel gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead at 8:01 of the second period. Kucherov found Guentzel open with a quick pass from the left corner for a tap-in at the right post.

Victor Hedman extended the lead to 3-1 at 10:41 by scoring off the rush. Kucherov fed Hedman in the high slot, where he took a few strides before being Sorokin high to the blocker side.

“It wasn't good enough," Horvat said. "At the end of the day, we're doing it to ourselves. We're just making the wrong plays and the wrong mistakes at the wrong time. I mean, I don't think they outplayed us by any means tonight. We make the same mistakes over and over again that are costing us. At the end of the day, at this time of year, we're trying to make a push here. It's just not good enough.”

Nick Paul scored into an empty net at 16:29 of the third period for the 4-1 final.

“I like the way we competed,” said Hedman, the Lightning captain. “What I probably like the most is the third period. We didn't give up anything. And, we spent a lot of time in their end. That's how we’ve got to win on the road. And down the stretch here, in the playoffs, that's the kind of game we want to play. And we get up 3-1, you’ve got to be able to shut it down, and we did that today.”

NOTES: Guentzel reached 300 assists for his NHL career. … Bjorkstrand became the seventh player on the Lightning roster with 20 goals this season. … The Islanders have allowed four or more goals in four straight games. … Horvat ended a four-game goal drought.