Isles Shut Down Tampa Bay

January 22, 2000 / 10:43 PM EST / CBS/AP

Kevin Weekes gave the New York Islanders something to be happy about.

Weekes made 28 saves as the Islanders snapped a six-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.

The shutout was Weekes' second this season and second of his career as the Islanders won for just the second time in their last 14 games.

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"It's always fun to get a shutout," Weekes said, "But when the team plays as well as it did tonight, it's more of a team shutout."

Gino Odjick and Jorgen Jonsson scored for the Islanders, who won at home for the first time since beating Boston 3-0 on Dec. 27.

The only goal Weekes needed came 7:48 into the game when Tim Connolly moved the puck laterally behind the goal line to Claude Lapointe. Lapointe centered the puck to Odjick, who tapped it past goalie Kevin Hodson.

"We've been practicing that play a lot," Odjick said. "Lappy made a nice pass to me and I was fortunate to get my stick on it."

Weekes, who faced only seven shots in the period, got busier in the second as he made 10 saves, including three on Fredrik Modin.

New York scored a rare power-play goal at 17:45 when Jonsson beat Hodson from the left side with a tough-angle high wrist shot. The goal was the first for the Islanders in 13 power-play chances, and just its second in 44 opportunities.

"We did a great job on special teams," Odjick said after the Islaners killed five penalties. "Our penalty killing was impeccable and our power play scored a goal."

Weekes finished the shutout with 11 more saves in the final period, and afterwards, there were a lot of relieved faces in the Islanders dressing room.

"A game like this can block out all the other stuff that's been going wrong," New York defenseman Jamie Rivers said. "We came out with a lot of intensity and emotion. We genuinely cared about each other."

Lightning coach Steve Ludzik wasn't upset after his team lost its fourth straight.

"I think we outplayed them tonight," Ludzik said. "We've just got to find a way to get some goals.

"Kevin Weekes was great tonight. I saw him during warmup, and the Islanders weren't able to get anything by him. I knew we were in for a long night. He's one of the best-kept secrets in this league, and you can write that down."