Islanders vs Lightning preview

A weekend preview saw a schedule that on paper looked to hurt the Isles in the hunt for last place in the NHL. But last night gave Isles fans something to smile about as both Tampa and Atlanta both gained at least a point in their matches against 2 playoff contenders. That makes tonight's match up extra interesting, With two teams playing hard but still looking for the better odds in the draft lottery play each other for a potentially harmful two points. The Islanders are coming off an embarrassing home loss to the Montreal Canadians who came to play and saw the Islanders for what they are, a competitive team who comes to play every night and was ready for them. As talked about on Hockey Night on Long Island With an Islanders win today and the next game they could be knocked out of last place by the Colorado Avalanche. Joel Rechlicz, Mitch Fritz, Mike Iggulden, Jesse Joensuu and Jamie Fraser (who is making his NHL debut) are all playing tonight.