Tavares caps Islanders' 3-goal 2nd in 5-2 win over Lightning
NEW YORK (AP) John Tavares got his 30th goal and two assists, and the New York Islanders scored three times in a 5:15 span to get a crucial 5-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night.
Ryan Pulock, Matt Martin, Brock Nelson and Johnny Boychuk also scored for the Islanders, and Thomas Greiss had 32 saves. New York holds the Eastern Conference's first wild-card spot and won for the third time in four games to reduce its magic number to two over Boston to secure a third straight postseason berth.
Alex Killorn and Victor Hedman scored for the Lightning, and Ben Bishop gave up five goals on 23 shots. Tampa Bay is two points behind first-place Florida in the Atlantic Division.
The Lightning were without star Steven Stamkos, who had surgery to remove a blood clot from near his right collarbone Monday and is expected to miss 1 to 3 months.
