The Tampa Bay Lightning exploded for eight goals to trounce the visiting New York Islanders 8-4 Tuesday night. Vincent Lecavalier led the charge with a hat trick while Michel Ouellet tallied twice. Karri Ramo made 20 saves to earn the victory. The loss was the fifth in six games for the Islanders and all but ended their chances of getting back into the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Lightning's John Tortorella earned his 235 career victory to pass the late Bob Johnson as the all-time winningest American-born coach in NHL history.

The Islanders, who have been hurt by injuries in recent weeks, lost two more players before the game even started. Forward Andy Hilbert left warm-ups with an ankle injury and was a last minute scratch. Josef Vasicek was forced to sit out with the flu and his replacement, Ben Walter, arrived just before the opening face-off. Ruslan Fedotenko suffered a sprained knee in the third period and did not return to the game.

"We only had three lines," Islanders' coach Ted Nolan said after the game. "I didn't know Hilbert was hurt until game time and then Walter gets here two minutes before game time. Colliton also has the flu and Witt probably shouldn't even be playing. We have so many issues right now that are piling up."

The Lightning took a 2-0 lead in the first period on a pair of power play goals. Ouellet opened the scoring just 6:51 into the contest, beating Rick DiPietro with a wrist shot. The second goal came on a 5-on-3 advantage when Lecavalier tipped home a shot by Martin St. Louis.

The Islanders didn't quit and managed to tie the game by the 4:16 mark of the second period. Captain Bill Guerin scored late in the first and Fedotenko scored against his former team early in the middle stanza. The game remained tied for nearly five minutes before Jeff Halpern put Tampa Bay ahead to stay and Nick Tarnasky made it 4-2 with just over five minutes remaining in the period.

The Lightning dominated the final period, outshooting the Islanders 17-8 and outscoring them 4-2. Lecavalier scored twice for Tampa Bay in the third. Perhaps the highlight for the Islanders was Ben Walter's first NHL goal which came on the power play when he redirected a shot by fellow rookie Blake Comeau. The final three Lightning goals came within a 42 second span late in the third period. Mike Comrie finished the scoring for the Islanders with just 37 seconds left on the clock.

The loss left the Islanders' dejected. “When it rains, it pours,” Guerin said. “We’re down a bunch of guys right now. Our young guys have stepped in and played well, but we need more depth. It’s nobody’s fault. It just happened.”

"We're fragile right now and we're making mental errors," Nolan added. "When you're team is fragile everything has to go right. Any kind of giveaways is going to make the situation worse. We're getting effort from 95% of the guys and those other five are hurting us."

The loss dropped the Islanders into 13th place in the Eastern Conference, eight points behind the Flyers with 11 games left to play. The Flyers have a game in hand and would win all tie-breakers with the Islanders.

The Islanders look to bounce back Wednesday night in Florida when they take on the Panthers.

Notes

Rick DiPietro assisted on the Islanders' final goal which moved him past Billy Smith for the Islanders' career assists record for goaltenders with 13.

DiPietro has struggled in recent games. He has allowed four or more goals in five of his last six games dating back to February 23. The Islanders are 1-5-0 in those contests.

Both Hilbert and Fedotenko will have their injuries re-evaluated on Wednesday. Their status for Wednesday night's game against the Panthers is uncertain.