Islanders blanked by Lightning in 5-0 shutout loss

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Andrei Vasilevskiy made 38 saves, Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos scored 1:48 apart midway through the second period, and the Tampa Bay Lightning earned their sixth straight playoff berth with a 5-0 win over the Islanders on Saturday night.

Tampa Bay will play Toronto in the first round of the postseason. The Maple Leafs hold a four-point advantage, with two games at-hand, over Tampa Bay for home-ice advantage.

“Obviously it gives us peace of mind,” Vasilevskiy said of making the playoffs. “It gives us some more confidence moving forward.”

The Lightning, who have appeared in the Stanley Cup Final each of the past three years and won back to back in 2020 and 2021, have reached the playoffs in nine of coach Jon Cooper’s 10 full-seasons with the team.

“You have no chance to win the Stanley Cup unless you make the playoffs,” Cooper said.

Mikhail Sergachev, Tanner Jeannot and Brayden Point also scored for the Lightning.

Sergachev left in the third after hurting his right leg. Cooper had no update on Sergachev’s status postgame.

Vasilevskiy has two shutouts in his last three game and four overall this season. He has allowed one goal during Tampa Bay’s three-game winning streak.

“I think what you’re seeing is we’re helping him out more,” Cooper said. “He’s super human, but he’s still human. You can’t give some of the chances we’ve given up on rushes and things like that. When you start cutting those out, Vasy usually takes care of the rest.”

The Islanders hold a two-point lead over Florida for the top wild card in the Eastern Conference.

“The second (period) was garbage,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said. “It’s…