NHL

Tavares comes alive in Islanders’ win over Lightning

If the Islanders could make a mold and mint last night’s performance over and over again, they would be a very happy franchise come playoff time.

They got a dominating two-goal, two-assist performance from John Tavares, solid goaltending from Al Montoya, and played shutdown defense against one of the most explosive offenses in the NHL. It all resulted in a 5-1 win over the Lightning in front of 9,759 at the Coliseum.

“It was big that we got out of the gate early,” said coach Jack Capuano about the Islanders’ four-goal first period. “We’ve talked about putting 60 minutes together, and I thought tonight for the most part we were close to that. We did a lot of good things. I thought overall it was a good effort.”

Tavares opened the game with a historic first period, becoming the first Islander to record four points in a period since Niklas Andersen on Dec. 10, 1996. He scored the first goal 36 seconds in, taking a good wrist shot from the left circle that was popped up in the air and swatted in by the hand Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (taken No. 2 overall in the 2009 draft, one pick behind Tavares).

By the time the period ended, Tavares had his two goals and two primary assists, while his linemates Matt Moulson and P.A. Parenteau both added a goal and an assist apiece, finishing the frame up 4-1.

“We just did the right things and fed off each other,” Tavares said of his line, all three of them finishing plus-4. “[We] played a simple game, got pucks to the net, went to the front of the net and got rewarded for it.”

When the Isles added a goal from Michael Grabner in the second period to make it 5-1, they had chased their former goalie, Dwayne Roloson, from the Lightning’s net. He was replaced by Mathieu Garon.

“I knew I wanted more shots on net,” said Tavares, who left the third period slightly early with a cramp in his right quad. “We’re starting to feel a little bit better.”

Montoya started his third straight game to begin the season and stopped 34 out of 35 shots, the only lapse coming in the first period on a low deflection off the stick of Steve Stamkos.

“They had some chances,” Capuano said. “We had some breakdowns and Al made some big saves for us.”

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Rick DiPietro continued to be evaluated yesterday after getting hit in the head with puck during Wednesday’s practice. The shot cracked the oft-injured goalie’s helmet, and a concussion was not ruled out. bcyrgalis@nypost.com