TAMPA, Fla. — They were outshot and had trouble controlling the puck.
They blew an early lead in the first period and almost blew a two-goal lead in the third. There were moments Saturday night when the Lightning looked like a poor imitation of the team that has won more games than any NHL franchise in the past decade.
And yet, when the final horn sounded, Tampa Bay had survived, 5-3, against the New York Islanders to get back to .500 after losing three of their first four games to open the season.
Sometimes, it’s better to be gritty than pretty.
Alex Killorn scored his first goal after a 33-game stretch — including the postseason — to put the game away in the final six minutes.
The Lightning also got goals from Brayden Point, Brandon Hagel, Corey Perry and Nick Paul, despite getting only 26 shots on net.
Circumstances were not in their favor when the night began. The Lightning were playing on back-to-back nights with travel mixed in. They were without defenseman Erik Cernak, who suffered an upper-body injury the night before, and backup Brian Elliot was in the net.
They also were the only team in the Eastern Conference without a victory at home and were about to embark on a five-day, three-game trip to the West Coast.
All in all, there was great potential for disappointment.
Instead, the Lightning scored almost as many goals in 5-on-5 play against the Islanders as they had in the first five games of the season combined.
Tampa Bay entered the game with seven power-play goals and only six in even-strength situations. The Lightning completely flipped the script with all five goals in 5-on-5 play, with players from all four lines chipping in.
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