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Second-period surge helps Islanders jolt Lightning

Feb 4, 2009 - 4:00 AM UNIONDALE, New York (Ticker) -- Yann Danis' stellar play of late is finally being rewarded.

Danis made 29 saves and the New York Islanders scored three times in just under 3 1/2 minutes in the second period en route to a 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.

Trent Hunter, All-Star defenseman Mark Streit and Radek Martinek scored in a 3:25 stretch for New York, which secured its season-high fourth consecutive win.

"The expectation is for all of our players to get better," New York coach Scott Gordon said. "If we rob some wins, that's great, but right now I'm not going to change the way I'm coaching the guys. We have four wins in a row because of the way we are going about things and we'll stay with that."

With goaltenders Joey MacDonald and Rick DiPietro sidelined due to injury, Danis has more than filled the void for New York. However, his play did not translate into victories as the team managed an 0-3-1 mark in his four straight starts during mid-January despite allowing three goals or less in each contest.

After scoring just one goal in each of those losses, the Islanders have rebounded to score a combined 13 tallies during their current streak to back up the continued solid performances of their netminder.

"I am very happy with the win," Danis said. "I was able to see most of the shots and get lucky on the ones I didn't. The guys played very well in front of me."

Hunter opened the scoring on the power play 6:27 into the period when he tipped in a shot from the point by Frans Nielsen. Kyle Okposo also assisted on the goal, giving the rookie five goals and an assist during his current five-game point streak.

Streit followed with a goal 2:02 later and Martinek netted his first of the season with 10:08 left in the session to cap the surge and Danis took over from there.

"It's fun - a lot more fun than losing four in a row," Islanders captain Bill Guerin said. "Yann played great and we did a good job of forechecking. We did a better job of taking away the middle."

Captain Vincent Lecavalier scored 3:05 into the third period for Tampa Bay, which has lost three straight games. The Lightning has scored just one goal in its last three trips to Nassau Coliseum.

"The breaks are just not going our way. I think it was an awful second period," Tampa Bay interim coach Rick Tocchet said. "And when you don't play well, you are not going to get the breaks. You need to give them credit.

"We need our role players to get a good hit and to change the momentum. We can't keep looking for Marty (St. Louis) and Vinny (Lecavalier) to keep bailing us out."

Karri Ramo got the start in net for the Lightning in place of Mike Smith, who suffered an injury during a 6-1 loss to Philadelphia on Friday.

Ramo was pulled after allowing three goals on 16 shots. Rookie Mike McKenna came on at 9:49 of the second and stopped all 11 shots he faced in his NHL debut.

"It was exciting. Once I got in and faced my first shot, I settled down," McKenna said. "There isn't that much of a difference (between the NHL and the AHL). Guys in the AHL can shoot the puck real hard also. The game here moves a little faster. My biggest adjustment was connecting with the defensemen since we have not worked together."