The Islanders were unable to keep up with the Lightning in Game 2 at Amalie Arena on Tuesday, falling 4-2, evening their semifinal series at one apiece.
Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat, Jan Rutta, and Victor Hedman scored goals for Tampa Bay, which got 24 saves from goalie Andrei Vasilveskiy.
The Islanders halved the Bolts’ lead late in the third period on a goal by Mathew Barzal.
Semyon Varlamov gutted it out for the Islanders, leaving midway through the first after a net-front collision, only to return for the start of the second period. The netminder finished with 23 saves. Rookie Ilya Sorokin stopped all six shots he faced in 6:50 between the pipes to end the first period.
Brock Nelson notched his seventh goal of the postseason in the first period.
Game 3 of the semifinal series will take place Thursday at Nassau Coliseum.