Islanders 5 - 2 Lightning
Final
  for this game

Islanders beat Roloson, Lightning

Mar 23, 2011 - 3:57 AM Tampa, FL (Sports Network) - Matt Martin scored the eventual game-winner in the second period and Al Montoya recorded 36 saves, as the New York Islanders beat Dwayne Roloson and the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-2, at St. Pete Times Forum.

Josh Bailey, Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen also recorded goals for New York, which has won two straight following a three-game slide.

Roloson, facing his former club for the first time since a January trade sent him from the Isles to the Bolts, gave up four goals on 27 shots.

Dominic Moore and Nate Thompson both scored for Tampa Bay, which fell to 2-5-4 in March and remains in second place in the Southeast Division.

"Everyone has to find a way to put together two points to get it going," Thompson said of the team's struggles. "We have to find a way to win together."

Thompson's tally came 61 seconds into the game, but Bailey countered on the power play 10 minutes later to tie it. Both goals came off rebounds.

Okposo re-directed Milan Jurcina's point shot into the back of the net at the 5:16 mark of the second to give the Islanders the lead, and Martin beat Roloson with a backhand with 6:21 remaining in the middle stanza.

Despite being shorthanded early in the third, New York went up, 4-1, when Nielsen steadied a bouncing puck on a breakaway and fired a slap shot into the left corner of the net at 8:08.

New York's Radek Martinek was whistled for a double-minor less than a minute later, and Moore scored on the man-advantage.

Michael Grabner's empty netter with 45.3 seconds to go ended any chance of a dramatic comeback for the hosts.

"I thought we outplayed them in every facet of the game tonight," Okposo said. "And it showed in the scoreboard."

Game Notes

New York won the season series, 3-1, taking two in overtime...The Lightning went 1-for-7 on the power play...Lightning defenseman Mattias Ohlund played in his 900th career NHL game...Roloson was 14-9-4 with a 2.55 goals-against average and four shutouts in 27 games with Tampa Bay coming into the game... Tampa Bay forward Simon Gagne played after missing one game due to a pinched nerve in his neck. He was minus-three with one shot on net.






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