As they did in their previous three wins, the Lightning grabbed an early lead. Unlike those other contests, they failed to hold it. But a Brandon Hagel goal late in the third broke a 3-3 tie and helped them come away with their fourth straight victory.

The first period was a mostly positive one for the Lightning. They scored twice and held the Islanders to just four shots on goal. Jake Guentzel intercepted an outlet pass from J.G. Pageau in the New York end, stepped to the inner part of the right circle, and snapped a shot past Ilya Sorokin on the stick side at 5:45. Late in the frame, Victor Hedman pitched a puck out of the defensive zone to center ice, where Brandon Hagel outraced the New York defenders and earned himself a breakaway. Hagel roofed a close-range shot into the top of the net at 15:42.

But the opening frame wasn’t flawless. At times, the Lightning struggled with d-zone turnovers—one of those led to an open chance for Brayden Schenn (he missed the net). They also allowed two dangerous chances off the rush. On the first, Matthew Schaefer wired a left-circle shot that Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped. Bo Horvat put the rebound off the top of the crossbar. Later on, Horvat stole the puck at the defensive blue line and countered on a breakaway. Vasilevskiy stopped Horvat’s shot.

Those defensive issues became more pronounced in the second period, as the Lightning surrendered three goals. Two came shortly after failed clearing attempts from the defensive zone. Tony DeAngelo wired a shot from the high slot through a heavy screen past Vasilevskiy at 6:27. At 11:41, Vasilevskiy was again screened and unable to stop Schaefer’s center-point shot.

The Lightning still had the lead at that point, however. That’s because the Isles took a penalty on the shift after the DeAngelo goal, and the Lightning converted on the ensuing power play. Guentzel walked from the goal line extended to the front of the net and scored at 7:54. The 3-1 lead lasted less than four minutes before Schaefer’s goal pulled the Islanders back to within one.

The Isles would tie the game in the closing seconds of the second period while on the power play. Hagel and Cirelli stepped in front of a Schaefer shot—it stung Hagel and broke Cirelli’s stick. The Islanders stayed with the play and hurried the puck to Horvat at the right circle. He fed it to Schenn in the low slot, and Schenn redirected it past Vasilevskiy at 19:53.

The third period featured chances for both teams. For much of the middle part of the frame, however, the Islanders dictated play. But Vasilevskiy kept the game tied—he made nine third-period saves, including an acrobatic skate save on an Anthony Duclair wraparound.

The Lightning survived that Islanders surge and leveled the ice over the final several minutes of the third. Sorokin made a save on a Zemgus Girgensons breakaway (Girgensons also had a shorthanded breakaway in the second period, on which he took it behind the net and tried a wraparound, which Sorokin stopped.) 

Then, with time winding down in regulation, the Lightning broke the tie. Ryan McDonagh passed from the defensive zone to Max Crozier at center ice, and Crozier fed Hagel, who skated into the offensive zone. From the top of the left circle, Hagel snapped a shot that beat Sorokin on the stick side with 1:44 remaining. The Lightning certainly generated more dangerous chances than that one throughout the night—chances that Sorokin stopped—but Hagel put his shot on net and was rewarded. 

Off the ensuring faceoff, the Isles pulled Sorokin for an extra attacker. Seconds later, McDonagh delivered a pass to Nikita Kucherov inside the Lightning blue line. Kucherov fed Anthony Cirelli, who got the puck to Hagel at center ice. Hagel took the puck inside the New York blue line and finished a right-point shot into the open net to complete his hat trick.

There was a by-hook-or-by-crook element to this win for the Lightning, especially when the Isles made their push in the third. But they navigated their way through it to preserve the tie. Then Hagel made the big play that earned them two points.

Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:

Brandon Hagel — Lightning. Hat trick. Four points. 

Matthew Schaefer — Islanders. Goal. Nine shots on net.

Jake Guentzel — Lightning. Two goals.