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The New York Islanders need Rick DiPietro to be at his best if they are to make a serious push for the playoffs in the final three weeks of the regular season.

The All-Star goalie looks to bounce back from his most recent loss and continue his dominant play over the Tampa Bay Lighting when the teams meet Tuesday night in Florida.

In his first start after missing three games following the death of his grandmother, DiPietro made 23 saves in New York's 4-1 loss at Philadelphia on Saturday. It was the Islanders' second straight defeat and sixth in their last eight games since winning six in a row.

"I think once he gets his groove going he'll be alright," Islanders coach Ted Nolan told the team's official Web site.

Facing Tampa Bay could help DiPietro get back on track. The Islanders are looking to sweep the season series with a fourth straight victory over the Lightning (26-35-8), owners of the East's worst record. The Islanders (32-31-7) haven't swept Tampa Bay since 2001-02.

In three wins against Tampa Bay in 2007-08, DiPietro has stopped 92 of the 94 shots he's faced and recorded two of his three shutouts this season. He made 32 saves in the Islanders' 1-0 home win over Tampa Bay on Feb. 21 - the teams' most recent meeting.

New York, seven points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 12 games remaining, will be counting on its star goalie while trying to make a desperate run for the postseason.

New York has struggled offensively - having been outscored 16-7 in its last five games - and the Islanders hope DiPietro, 26-25-7 with a 2.72 goals-against average, can keep them in games if the scoring slump continues.

On Saturday, though, Philadelphia did all its scoring in the final two periods to send DiPietro to his fourth loss in five starts.

"Regardless how they go in, they are goals," said DiPietro, who has a 3.82 GAA in his last five contests after posting a 1.98 in winning six straight from Feb. 12-21. "I felt good. I was seeing the puck well. Some of the times it was tough to see the puck at all, but for the most part I felt good seeing it."

Defenseman Freddy Meyer scored Saturday for the Islanders, who have been held to one goal in each of their last two games after a 4-3 shootout win against the New York Rangers last Tuesday.

New York's Mike Comrie and Bill Guerin, two of the team's top scorers, have combined for two goals and three assists against Tampa Bay this season, but have each been held without a point in New York's last four contests overall.

Tampa Bay, meanwhile, is looking to snap a five-game losing streak after a 5-3 loss at Columbus on Sunday afternoon.

"I thought our team played hard," Lightning coach John Tortorella said. "We scored a couple goals and played good enough to lose."

Jeff Halpern had a goal and assist, while Vincent Lecavalier scored to snap a 12-game goal drought for Tampa Bay, which has lost 10 of 11.

The Lightning have been outscored 8-2 this season against New York, with former Tampa Bay forward Brad Richards, who was traded to Dallas last month, scoring both goals.

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Lecavalier scores three goals, Tampa Bay beats Islanders 8-4

TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella reached a milestone, while the injury-depleted New York Islanders saw their fading playoff hopes take another hit.

Vincent Lecavalier scored three goals and Michel Ouellet added two, leading the Lightning past New York 8-4 on Tuesday night.

Tortorella moved past Bob Johnson to become the winningest American-born NHL coach with 235 victories. He left after the game without speaking to reporters due a personal matter.

Jeff Halpern, Nick Tarnasky and Jason Ward had the other Lightning goals. Tampa Bay, last in the Eastern Conference, won for just the second time in 12 games.

"I think it was certainly satisfying for our players," Tampa Bay assistant coach Mike Sullivan said. "We've worked extremely hard over the past six or seven or eight games, maybe even longer, and haven't got rewarded."

Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedotenko, Ben Walter and Mike Comrie scored for the Islanders, who have lost five of six. New York fell to 13th in the Eastern Conference, eight points behind eighth-place Philadelphia, which lost 4-3 to Toronto in overtime.

"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."

The Islanders have five players on injured reserve, and several others, including defenseman Brendan Witt, playing hurt.

"We're real fragile right now," coach Ted Nolan said. "We've got so many guys out. So many new guys. Everybody is trying the best they can. It seems like we're fighting an uphill battle."

New York goalie Rick DiPietro allowed eight goals on 44 shots.

Ouellet put the Lightning ahead 1-0 with a power-play goal at 6:51 of the first. Halpern stole the puck from DiPietro behind the net and passed to Ouellet in the low right circle.

Lecavalier made it 2-0 during a 5-on-3 power play with 7:51 left in the first.

Guerin cut the Islanders' deficit to 2-1 at 17:05 of the first. New York tied it at 2 on Fedotenko's goal at 4:16 of the second.

Halpern put Tampa Bay up 3-2 nine minutes into the second. Mathieu Darche skated in from the left wing, drew DiPietro toward him, then skated behind the net and found Halpern all alone in the low right circle. The Lightning took a 4-2 advantage when Tarnasky scored his first goal in 16 games with 5:11 left in the second.

Lecavalier jammed a puck past DiPietro at 4:58 of the third to extend the Lightning lead to 5-2. After Walter scored a power-play goal with 9:58 left, Lecavalier completed his hat trick from the right circle at 17:43. Ouellet, at 18:15, and Ward 10 seconds later made it 8-3.

"It seemed tonight, everything went in at once," Lecavalier said.

Comrie closed out the scoring with 36.4 seconds remaining.

DiPietro got his sixth assist of the season on Comrie's goal. It was his 13th overall, which moved him past Billy Smith for the most by a goalie in team history.

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