In Elmont, six different skaters scored for the Islanders in a 6-1 thumping of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night. 
“I thought right from the drop of the first puck, guys were on pucks,” New York coach Lane Lambert said. “We played aggressive, we took away time and space and we did a real good job tonight.”
After a scoreless opening stanza, the Isles broke out with four strikes in the middle frame.
Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves in the New York win.
The Islanders moved to 40-30-9, and remain tied with the Florida Panthers for the first wild card in the Eastern Conference, one point clear of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
With a scoreless game entering the middle frame, the3 Isles broke out with three goals, Adam Pelech, Brock Nelson, and Kyle Palmieri were the strikers for the 3-0 advantage.
Nikita Kucherov stopped the run with a goal to trim the lead to 3-1.
“[We’re] playing teams that are fighting for their lives, and we’re just not matching their desperation and execution,” Tampa’s Steven Stamkos said. “The last two games aren’t the way we want to go.
The Lightning dropped to 45-28-6.
“This is the NHL,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “To win in this league, you have to do the right things and play the right way and, if you don’t, you risk being embarrassed and we’ve been embarrassed two nights in a row.”
Maybe dropping the chippy play is a good start.
Ryan Pulock closed the scoring in the second period for a 4-1 lad headed to the third period.
“It was a pretty important goal,” Pulock said. “Giving [up Kucherov’s goal] late [in the second] got them back in the game, [but to be] able to get that one late in the period just kind of gives you a better feeling coming in for intermission.”
It didn’t get any better for Tampa in the third.
“They played last night,” Islanders forward Zach Parise said of the Lightning. “There’s not really anywhere they can go seeding-wise, so it one of those games you want to bury them and not give them any type of life.”
Simon Holmstrom and Bo Horvat scored late in the third period for the 6-1 final.
Brian Elliott made 36 saves in the Tampa loss.
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