If football is a game of inches, then hockey must be a game of millimeters or even nanometers because it certainly was in Utah's game against Calgary.

And depending on who you ask, that tiny margin was either the sliver of white ice visible between the puck and the goal line or the fraction of the puck still touching the red line

The goal does not count for Calgary. 👀 pic.twitter.com/zKi6HdSNjQ

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 2, 2025

At the beginning of the second, with Utah leading 1-0, a sudden challenge from Calgary was issued on whether or not the puck crossed the line and if Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka actually saved it. 

As the officials reviewed the play, what initially seemed like a clear save suddenly became a polarizing decision when a deflected puck off Utah defenseman Nick DeSimone came dangerously close to crossing the goal line for Calgary's first goal.

After the review was finished, it was deemed that, even with the puck being as close to going in as it could be, Calgary would not be awarded a goal. 

If Vejmelka had reacted a tenth of a second later, Calgary would have tied the game up 1-1 and the dynamic of this game would have been very different. 

Instead, Utah's Barrett Hayton would score Utah's second goal of the game just thirty seconds after the review ended. 

Backhander Barrett 🔥#EasyToCelebrate | @budlightpic.twitter.com/umZcLaE65g

— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) April 2, 2025

The play began when Utah’s Nick Schmaltz stole the puck from Calgary in the neutral zone.

With Calgary having only two defenders back—one covering Schmaltz in the middle of the ice—Barrett Hayton and Sean Durzi worked together, passing back and forth before Hayton found an opening and fired a shot, putting Utah up 2-0.

What had looked like a tied game was now fully in Utah’s control, thanks to one of Vejmelka’s clutch saves of the night.

"It’s just a lot of fun to play in front of him. He's a competitor...he loves doing it," said Hayton. "It's a lot of confidence in a guy like that, and you see it every day. We know he kicks, but still, he makes some saves out there that are just crazy."

POSTGAME

"It's part of the playoff game, the playoff style of hockey. Obviously, we learn a lot from those kinds of games and it's part of it too."@utahhockeyclub Karel Vejmelka on his teammates showing up for him pic.twitter.com/5Qp5E67FRA

— Utah Hockey Club PR (@UtahHC_PR) April 2, 2025

In a night where Vejmelka saved all but one shot of his 34 saves, with Rasmus Andersson scoring the lone goal for Calgary on an unassisted long goal, he would get two more clutch saves in the third for Utah that proved to be the difference in this game

With Utah leading 2-1 in the third, Vejmelka denied back-to-back open shots from Calgary’s Blake Coleman and Matt Coronato. On Coronato’s attempt, Sean Durzi even helped his goalie by laying out to block the shot, but it would be Vejmelka who ended up saving the goal by kicking the puck away. 

"I just try to focus on another game, another shift, and another shot," said Vejmelka. "That's [the] kind of the mindset that I've had and we just need to keep going and keep rolling and play a style of hockey where we block shots. Being resilient is huge for us."

Vejmelka also received help from his teammates, who disrupted Calgary's puck movement all night, and aggressively attacked the Flames whenever they were holding the puck.

Kevin Stenlund, who scored Utah's first goal, was even able to get a shot on goal with well under two minutes remaining, while Calgary tried to pull goalie Rasmus Andersson for an extra attacker, thanks to the aggressive play Utah displayed.

This line has been putting in work 💪

Stenny makes it a 1-0 game! pic.twitter.com/YjqdJE87u9

— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) April 2, 2025

In the end, Utah would stay strong on defense and secure the win with an empty-net goal from Clayton Keller, leading to a 3-1 victory.

"The point is, we'll never quit," said coach André Tourigny. " There's no quitting in that room. There's no quitting in those players... We won’t quit until they pull the plug, and if they do, it is what it is... but we won't give them any reason to do it."

Dylan Guenther proved to be a prime example of this in the first period after a puck to the face left him bleeding on the ice.

Hockey players are warriors 💪 pic.twitter.com/og2OmNLOqe

— Clean Hits (@CleanHitsHockey) April 2, 2025

Although Guenther temporarily left the game after taking the puck to the face, he returned before the first period ended, rejoining the action with just over a minute remaining.

While the game left battle scars and some Calgary fans still convinced the Flames should have had that goal, Utah earned a clutch win and a sweep over Calgary.

Though it must be irritating to watch the Blues pick up their 10th consecutive win on a last-minute, game-tying overtime goal against the Red Wings, Utah has to feel good about starting its five-game homestand with a win.

Its Do or Die For Utah Hockey Club 

Now, Utah sits eight points out of the final Wild Card spot, currently held by the Minnesota Wild, with the Blues' win allowing them to leapfrog over the Wild.

Utah is hoping to continue its longest winning streak of the season with a matchup against the Kings this Thursday, April 3.

If football is a game of inches, then hockey must be a game of millimeters or even nanometers because it certainly was in Utah's game against Calgary.

And depending on who you ask, that tiny margin was either the sliver of white ice visible between the puck and the goal line or the fraction of the puck still touching the red line

The goal does not count for Calgary. 👀 pic.twitter.com/zKi6HdSNjQ

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 2, 2025

At the beginning of the second, with Utah leading 1-0, a sudden challenge from Calgary was issued on whether or not the puck crossed the line and if Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka actually saved it. 

As the officials reviewed the play, what initially seemed like a clear save suddenly became a polarizing decision when a deflected puck off Utah defenseman Nick DeSimone came dangerously close to crossing the goal line for Calgary's first goal.

After the review was finished, it was deemed that, even with the puck being as close to going in as it could be, Calgary would not be awarded a goal. 

If Vejmelka had reacted a tenth of a second later, Calgary would have tied the game up 1-1 and the dynamic of this game would have been very different. 

Instead, Utah's Barrett Hayton would score Utah's second goal of the game just thirty seconds after the review ended. 

Backhander Barrett 🔥#EasyToCelebrate | @budlightpic.twitter.com/umZcLaE65g

— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) April 2, 2025

The play began when Utah’s Nick Schmaltz stole the puck from Calgary in the neutral zone.

With Calgary having only two defenders back—one covering Schmaltz in the middle of the ice—Barrett Hayton and Sean Durzi worked together, passing back and forth before Hayton found an opening and fired a shot, putting Utah up 2-0.

What had looked like a tied game was now fully in Utah’s control, thanks to one of Vejmelka’s clutch saves of the night.

"It’s just a lot of fun to play in front of him. He's a competitor...he loves doing it," said Hayton. "It's a lot of confidence in a guy like that, and you see it every day. We know he kicks, but still, he makes some saves out there that are just crazy."

POSTGAME

"It's part of the playoff game, the playoff style of hockey. Obviously, we learn a lot from those kinds of games and it's part of it too."@utahhockeyclub Karel Vejmelka on his teammates showing up for him pic.twitter.com/5Qp5E67FRA

— Utah Hockey Club PR (@UtahHC_PR) April 2, 2025

In a night where Vejmelka saved all but one shot of his 34 saves, with Rasmus Andersson scoring the lone goal for Calgary on an unassisted long goal, he would get two more clutch saves in the third for Utah that proved to be the difference in this game

With Utah leading 2-1 in the third, Vejmelka denied back-to-back open shots from Calgary’s Blake Coleman and Matt Coronato. On Coronato’s attempt, Sean Durzi even helped his goalie by laying out to block the shot, but it would be Vejmelka who ended up saving the goal by kicking the puck away. 

"I just try to focus on another game, another shift, and another shot," said Vejmelka. "That's [the] kind of the mindset that I've had and we just need to keep going and keep rolling and play a style of hockey where we block shots. Being resilient is huge for us."

Vejmelka also received help from his teammates, who disrupted Calgary's puck movement all night, and aggressively attacked the Flames whenever they were holding the puck.

Kevin Stenlund, who scored Utah's first goal, was even able to get a shot on goal with well under two minutes remaining, while Calgary tried to pull goalie Rasmus Andersson for an extra attacker, thanks to the aggressive play Utah displayed.

This line has been putting in work 💪

Stenny makes it a 1-0 game! pic.twitter.com/YjqdJE87u9

— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) April 2, 2025

In the end, Utah would stay strong on defense and secure the win with an empty-net goal from Clayton Keller, leading to a 3-1 victory.

"The point is, we'll never quit," said coach André Tourigny. " There's no quitting in that room. There's no quitting in those players... We won’t quit until they pull the plug, and if they do, it is what it is... but we won't give them any reason to do it."

Dylan Guenther proved to be a prime example of this in the first period after a puck to the face left him bleeding on the ice.

Hockey players are warriors 💪 pic.twitter.com/og2OmNLOqe

— Clean Hits (@CleanHitsHockey) April 2, 2025

Although Guenther temporarily left the game after taking the puck to the face, he returned before the first period ended, rejoining the action with just over a minute remaining.

While the game left battle scars and some Calgary fans still convinced the Flames should have had that goal, Utah earned a clutch win and a sweep over Calgary.

Though it must be irritating to watch the Blues pick up their 10th consecutive win on a last-minute, game-tying overtime goal against the Red Wings, Utah has to feel good about starting its five-game homestand with a win.

Its Do or Die For Utah Hockey Club 

Now, Utah sits eight points out of the final Wild Card spot, currently held by the Minnesota Wild, with the Blues' win allowing them to leapfrog over the Wild.

Utah is hoping to continue its longest winning streak of the season with a matchup against the Kings this Thursday, April 3.

This may be one of the rare times when a team is happy to be playing a back-to-back set.

The Florida Panthers lost an extremely frustrating game on Tuesday night in Montreal, allowing a tying goal with 8.4 seconds left before losing in overtime 3-2.

From the opening puck drop, the game was dripping in playoff intensity.

The physicality, the passion, the effort…it’s what makes hockey the best sport there is, and what makes playoff hockey the best postseason in sports.

There should be more of where that came from as the actual playoffs get closer, but for now let’s go over to Tuesday’s takeaways:

A VERY FLUKY GOAL

The bottom line is that the Panthers were 10 seconds away from a well-earned two points in a very hostile building.

A funky goal that occurred during a sequence that saw several players go exactly where they shouldn’t have because of where the puck ended up bouncing after a strange shot and a block attempt that all felt awkward but ended in jubilation for Montreal…that sum it up okay?

“Just a bad break,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “Over 82 games, you’re going to get one of those. We’ll leave it here.”

CATS DIDN’T PLAY POORLY

When it comes to playing postseason hockey, the Panthers know how to succeed.

They can grind games out with the best of them, and that’s exactly what they did Tuesday in Montreal.

When the Canadiens scored their funky goal in the final seconds, it was their first shot in over eight minutes.

Despite the way things ended up for Florida, Maurice said afterward he was not upset with how his team played.

“Not even a little bit,” he said. “You play the game the way you want to play it. We give up three shots in the third period with a 2-1 lead is nearly perfect. It's a break that won’t happen again. I won't think about the way this game ended again.”

SOLID GAME BY VANECEK

Goaltender Vitek Vanecek’s fourth game with the Panthers was not one many will want to remember, but that has little to do with how he performed.

The 29-year-old was strong throughout and displayed excellent poise and rebound control.

After things went sideways at the end, it’s easy to overlook a solid effort from Florida’s goaltending insurance policy.

He finished with 18 saves, including three on high danger shots.

“I thought in the first (period) he had a couple, then he had one in the second, and then I thought it was a pretty quiet game for him, but he was good when we needed him to be,” said Maurice.

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ST. LOUIS – Seriously, who really saw this coming?

From this St. Louis Blues team that was the last in the NHL this season to win three games in a row, let alone 10, after finding a way to win in a different fashion on Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings.

When Cam Fowler scored at 3:27 of overtime to cap a last-minute comeback, staring at the clutches of defeat for the first time in 19 days, before rallying past the Red Wings 2-1, it gave the Blues (41-28-7) their 10th straight win.

Consider this: the Blues, who by the way are now one point ahead of the Minnesota Wild – who have a game in hand – for the first wild card in the Western Conference, were the last team in the NHL this season to put together a three-game winning streak, and it took nine(!) tries to do that, now are the hottest team in the NHL; they are one win shy of matching the franchise record for consecutive wins at 11 (accomplished by the 2019 Stanley Cup champion side) and one win from matching the Winnipeg Jets for longest winning streak in the league this season.

How is this happening?

There is some serious mojo going on around here considering the fact the Blues were 29 seconds away from being blanked by Cam Talbot, the same Cam Talbot who was offered up as a sacrificial lamb in this very building when the Blues downed the Wild in the first round of the playoffs just three years ago.

But Jordan Kyrou help steal a valuable point with a sixth-attacker goal set up by none other than Fowler, and then Fowler won it in OT.

“It’s been a fun ride here,” Fowler said. “We’ve all enjoyed playing with one another. There’s not many opportunities you have in this league to keep a streak like this going. It was one of those games where they did a good job of limiting our chances and we just had to stay as patient as we possibly could.

“We’ve kept faith for a long time now knowing that we can win hockey games no matter how much time is left. Our guys just stuck with it and everybody made some big-time plays that helped us win. It’s fun to be able to keep this thing rolling.”

Jordan Binnington, named the NHL's third star of the month for March, made 20 saves, some of them key stops.

“I don’t know if mental toughness is the right word, but the way we stick to it,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. ‘We said we need to simplify in the third, we thought our second was too much east-west, too many turnovers, not winning enough battles. We just had to get back to our identity and who we are. I felt we did as good a job as we could. We didn’t have much juice in the legs tonight and for whatever reasons, that just happens. First time we’ve had two days off in a while and maybe we didn’t handle that the right way. We’ll take another day off tomorrow and we’ll get back at it Thursday.”

It was a triumphant win and debut for 2022 first-round pick (No. 23 overall) Jimmy Snuggerud, who joined the Blues after signing his three-year, entry-level contract on Friday.

How about those Three Takeaways:

* Montgomery’s early goalie pull – It was only 1-0, and there was 3:23 remaining in regulation, but Montgomery felt it was the right time to lift Binnington.

The Blues had allowed the Red Wings (34-33-7) to forge ahead when J.T. Compher broke the scoreless stalemate at 5:13 of the third period and they just didn’t seem like they were going to have that overwhelming push to level the game or take a lead.

Montgomery saw some flaws that perhaps could be exposed and decided to go with an extra body on the ice that finally paid off when Fowler was able to slide down a seam play to Kyrou, who didn’t get all of his quick shot but enough to slide it through the seemingly impenetrable Talbot.

THIS TEAM IS UNBELIEVABLE!!! #stlbluespic.twitter.com/v2Jn1HguFX

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 2, 2025

“We’re just trying to attack there,” Kyrou said. “Not much time on the clock and we get a recovery there. Obviously [Flower] made a helluva pass to me right to the seam there and I just tried to tip it.”

Fowler added, “We had some opportunities from probably the three-minute mark. And we had a lot of possession down there, so I think they were just keeping us to the outside. We were getting a couple good looks, but for the most part, 6-on-5 you have to find a way to get pucks to the net and to the dirty areas. That’s where the goals are scored. I just saw a little seam to ‘Rouzy’ there and he made a great tip to get us the goal to tie it up. It’s more just about trying to funnel pucks to the front of the net 6-on-5, create as much chaos as much as you can.”

But credit Montgomery, who wasn’t seeing the kind of attack he wanted at 5-on-5.

“No, that’s why we pulled the goalie so early,” he said. “We weren’t creating enough chances, we didn’t have enough zone time and they were icing pucks because they were tired.

“I felt that our first period was a pretty good period, but it wasn’t hard enough offensively, and I just felt like we kind of lost energy as the game went along. But the great thing is we found a way to win. Our third period continues to be a period where we play simple, our habits are at their best and our game management was the best.

“They iced the puck. They were tired. All the guys that we used were fresh on the bench, so we didn’t have to use our time out and they were fresh. We thought it was a good time to try and get a goal. You don’t know if you’re going to get another offensive zone face-off.”

* Sticking with it when not at their best – During this winning streak, one aspect of the Blues’ game that couldn’t be faulted is their cleanliness of puck movement.

They had been swift, fluent, hitting guys in stride and not becoming terribly vulnerable with puck turnovers.

Tonight was one of those rare instances. But they stuck with it and found a way.

“It wasn’t sharp,” Montgomery said. ‘And I think it’s because of our brains. Our brains were slower today to make reads, checking and making plays offensively. We had a lot of odd-man rushes in the first 30 minutes and we didn’t get any real good scoring opportunities like we did on the 2-on-1 and the overtime winner.”

It all goes into play when putting together such a winning streak as this, the good and the not-so-great.

“Very hard. That’s an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often,” Fowler said. “We understand that and how special it is. It takes a lot of things to go right for that to be able to come true. I think it just speaks to our lineup top to bottom, the work that we’ve been putting in and we’ve had some comebacks here too in this streak. We’re finding ways to win hockey games and it’s a lot of fun coming to work and playing for one another. It’s a really tight group and we certainly enjoy going out and working for one another.”

* Fowler’s deft hands to win it – Once the Blues got it to overtime, they have an edge. They have the ability to utilize multiple bodies and Fowler was one of them.

The defenseman jumped into the play when Robert Thomas checked Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider off the puck in the defensive zone and created a 2-on-1. Once Thomas sauced a backhand towards Fowler, he had to use his hands to, first, corral a puck and pull it into stride, and two, be deft enough to lift it into the top end of the net to win it.

You didn't doubt it, did you? #stlbluespic.twitter.com/w421teCe0P

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 2, 2025

“A quick little 2-on-1 there,” Fowler said. “Obviously ‘Tommer’s a great passer. He put me in a good position and I just saw myself in with a good chance on the goalie and tried to make a good shot. It was a good all-around play mostly by ‘Tommer.’ He set the whole thing up.

“I think that’s the strength of our team, the depth that we have up front and on the back end. We feel like every night, there could be different guys contributing and helping us win hockey games. I think that’s totally true. We have a lot of weapons that we feel can help us in overtime, helps us stay fresh and energized as well.”

As for who was going over the boards next?

“We feel we have a lot of players. I think if we were going to make another change, it was going to be [Jake] Neighbours and Snuggerud going over,” Montgomery said. ‘It would mean I was going to use eight forwards and three D-men in the course of the 3-on-3 and that speaks to the depth of talented players that we have.”

The Winnipeg Jets had their three-game win streak snapped by the Los Angeles Kings, losing 4-1.

The Kings started the scoring in the first period, scoring twice in quick succession. Trevor Moore recorded his 17th goal of the season to break the ice. Long-time Kings centre Anze Kopitar extended the lead with his 19th of the season.

Cole Perfetti continued his strong end of the season, scoring his 17th of the season to cut the lead in half. Andrei Kuzmenko would answer back, regaining the Kings' two-goal advantage after a bad neutral zone turnover by Logan Stanley.

The Kings shut the door on the Jets in the third period, limiting the Jets to just six shots. Adrian Kempe iced the game, scoring his 32nd goal of the season into the Jets' empty net.

The Kings are one of the best defensive teams in the NHL and they put on a clinic. They held the Jets to just 19 shots, 18 of which were turned away by Darcy Kuemper. Connor Hellebuyck wasn't all too busy but allowed three goals on 19 shots.

The Jets will be back in action on Thursday when they take on another team they have failed to beat this season, the Vegas Golden Knights.

Stay updated with the most interesting Jets stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favourites on Google News to never miss a story.

The Winnipeg Jets had their three-game win streak snapped by the Los Angeles Kings, losing 4-1.

The Kings started the scoring in the first period, scoring twice in quick succession. Trevor Moore recorded his 17th goal of the season to break the ice. Long-time Kings centre Anze Kopitar extended the lead with his 19th of the season.

Cole Perfetti continued his strong end of the season, scoring his 17th of the season to cut the lead in half. Andrei Kuzmenko would answer back, regaining the Kings' two-goal advantage after a bad neutral zone turnover by Logan Stanley.

The Kings shut the door on the Jets in the third period, limiting the Jets to just six shots. Adrian Kempe iced the game, scoring his 32nd goal of the season into the Jets' empty net.

The Kings are one of the best defensive teams in the NHL and they put on a clinic. They held the Jets to just 19 shots, 18 of which were turned away by Darcy Kuemper. Connor Hellebuyck wasn't all too busy but allowed three goals on 19 shots.

The Jets will be back in action on Thursday when they take on another team they have failed to beat this season, the Vegas Golden Knights.

Stay updated with the most interesting Jets stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favourites on Google News to never miss a story.

The Ottawa Senators remain in good shape to finally solve the puzzle of making the NHL playoffs. But they certainly had no solution for the Buffalo Sabres this season.

The Sabres defeated the Senators 5-2 on Tuesday night to sweep the season series, outscoring the Sens 17-5, and taking all eight points in the process.

Speaking of dominance, veteran Buffalo goalie James Reimer stopped 33 shots and improved to 19-6-4 against the Senators. No goalie in NHL history has a better record against Ottawa.

Linus Ullmark gave up four goals on 21 shots. Claude Giroux and Jake Sanderson scored for the Senators, who, despite a six minute flurry of chances in the third, were never really in this one.

Buffalo jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first, with goals from Alex Tuch and Rasmus Dahlin. They extended their lead in the second, capitalizing on some atrocious Ottawa defending. They had great view of Tage Thompson making it 3-0 after a perfect give-and-go with JJ Peterka.

However, just over a minute later, Claude Giroux got Ottawa on the board after a nice solo rush and a pass from Tyler Kleven.

In the third, Senators newcomer Dylan Cozens inadvertently provided a lovely parting gift to his old team, putting an errant pass right onto the stick of Peyton Krebs. Krebs capitalized on the mistake, scoring on the ensuing breakaway to restore Buffalo's three-goal lead.

Jake Sanderson responded shortly after, cutting the deficit to 4-2. After that, the Senators put together a strong push for five or six minutes, but Reimer wasn’t having any of it.

With the Sens on a 6-on-4 late in the game, Ryan McLeod sealed Buffalo's win with an empty-netter. 

The Senators played this one without Brady Tkachuk, who’s out with an upper-body injury suffered Sunday in Pittsburgh. It was a particularly rough night for Drake Batherson who was a minus 5 on the evening.

The loss was costly, as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Florida Panthers 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday, cutting the Sens’ lead to five points with eight games to play. The Columbus Blue Jackets are now the best of the non-playoff teams in the East. They won 8-4 over the Nashville Predators and stand seven points behind Ottawa.

Things don't get any easier for the Sens. Their next game is Thursday night at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Then it's a visit from Florida Saturday, followed by a home and home with Columbus starting Sunday in Ottawa.

NEW YORK (AP) — Jake Guentzel had a goal and an assist, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 28 shots, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 4-1 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight win to inch closer to clinching a playoff spot.

Oliver Bjorkstrand scored his 20th of the season, Victor Hedman also scored and Nick Paul added an empty-netter for the Lightning. Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point each added two assists.

Bo Horvat scored a short-handed goal for New York and Ilya Sorokin made 19 saves as the Islanders lost their sixth straight (0-4-2), further diminishing their slim playoff hopes.

Guentzel scored the tiebreaking goal at 8:09 of the second period. Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech inexplicably left Guentzel alone and Kucherov delivered a beautiful pass to set up the go-ahead goal.

Hedman made it 3-1 about 2 1/2 minutes later, and Paul capped the scoring into an empty net with 3 1/2 minutes left in the third.

Takeaways

Lightning: Vasilevskiy recorded his 36th win of the regular season, trailing only Connor Hellebuyck of the NHL-leading Winnipeg Jets.

Islanders: Sorokin started four of the Islanders' previous six losses, allowing 14 goals during that stretch.

Key Moment

Horvat missed a one-timer during an Islanders two-man advantage roughly five minutes into the second period while the game was even at 1-1. Tampa Bay then scored twice in the period to take a 3-1 lead.

Key stat

Kucherov’s two assists raised his season total to 111 points and reclaimed the NHL scoring lead. Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon is in second place with 110.

Up next

Lightning visit Ottawa on Thursday, and Islanders host Minnesota on Friday.

The New York Islanders knew that Tuesday night's contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning would be pivotal in their uphill climb towards the postseason.  

But with their backs up against the wall the Islanders were unable to muster what it takes to defeat the Atlantic Divisional power, losing 4-1. 

The Isles began the first period creating a number of opportunities, however Tampa goalie, Andrei Vasilevskiy stood tall including stopping Bo Horvat on a breakaway. 

Soon after, the Islanders got caught in their own zone after a few failed exits, and Oliver Bjorkstrand deflected a shot from the point to give Tampa a 1-0 lead with 11:14 to play in the first.

Oliver Bjorkstrand tips in his 20th as Tampa Bay strikes first! ⚡️

📺: Lightning vs. Islanders on SN360 or stream on Sportsnet+ pic.twitter.com/RKSEGCO6VF

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 1, 2025

Casey Cizikas then took a slashing penalty, with 10:53 to go in the first. 

Incredibly, Horvat cashed in shorthanded, tying the score at 1-1 with 9:03 to go in the first.

Horvat’s shorty ties it up. #Islespic.twitter.com/C36oLdx7Ej

— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) April 2, 2025

The teams went to the dressing room locked up 1-1 after one, with both sides getting Grade-A opportunities. 

In the second, the Lightning showed their skill. 

Jake Guentzel scored his 38th goal of the season 8:09 into the 2nd, finishing a neat pass from Nikita Kucherov out of the corner.

Nikita Kucherov gets his 110th point of the season with a sweet feed to Jake Guentzel 🍎 pic.twitter.com/T5NnSeW1of

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 2, 2025

Minutes later Victor Hedman put the Bolts ahead by two, as Kucherov set up the big defenseman for his 14th goal of the season. 

Kuch put it on a tee for Hedman 🚀 pic.twitter.com/iHUNEimW5H

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 2, 2025

At the second period's buzzer, Anthony Cirelli was called for tripping, and so the Islanders ended the third frame on a power play. In the second period, the Isles held Tampa to only six shots, however two went in and the Lightning entered the third with a 3-1 lead.

Only :24 seconds into the third period, Anders Lee was called for slashing setting up 1:37 seconds of four-on-four action, negating the Islanders power play.  In an effort to get back into the game, the Isles were unable to utilize the open ice to their advantage, and the teams returned to five aside.

3:59 into the second, Pierre Engvall was called for tripping, giving the Lightning their fourth power play of the night - - however, the Isles successfully killed the penalty.

Then with 6:39 remaining in the game, Yanni Gourde and Cizikas dropped the gloves -- possibly an attempt by Cozies too get the Islanders emotionally back into the game.

However, with under four minutes remaining, coach Patrick Roy pulled Sorokin, and with 3:31 remaining, the Bolts sealed the deal, as Nick Paul scored the empty net goal making the score 4-1.

The Islanders will be back in action on Friday when they host the Minnesota Wild at 7:30.