Islanders 5 Lightning 1 (NHL)

Brooklyn.

Have I mentioned how much I hate back to back games?

You can't give up 3 goals in the first 5 minutes of the game, not even the Bolts, the way they have been playing this season. You really can't do that after expending the effort Tampa Bay did after coming back from another slow start in Buffalo, the night before. They've been able to overcome slow starts all season, but this one got away too fast and they could not recover.

They also lost Victor Hedman. He collided with a ref, early in the 2nd period, went to the locker room, and did not return. It is reported that he has sustained an upper body injury and no further information was given. Losing him at this stage could be big.

Islanders Brock Nelson, Cal Clutterbuck, and Devon Toews scored the 3 early goals. Nelson scored on a power play goal, Cutterbuck on another breakaway (2 on 1 this time), and Vassy lost sight of a puck shot from the left point by Toews. Casey Cizikas made it 4-0, midway through the 2nd and Josh Bailey added an empty netter with 52 seconds left in the game. Ryan McDonagh scored for the Lightning late in the second period.

It looks like the magic is over. Now comes the grid.

This loss broke the Bolts 12-0-0 run against the Metropolitan Division, this season.