Coming off of a bad week that saw the Tampa Bay Lightning fall out of a playoff spot, there was plenty of motivation heading into the first week of December.
Home ice became sweet once again, with two regulation wins to start the week. Andrei Vasilevskiy got redemption for a poor outing two days prior, shutting out the Dallas Stars 4-0 on the night Victor Hedman was honored before playing in his 1000th NHL game. Anthony Cirelli contributed two of the four goals, while Nikita Kucherov had two points to push his point streak to 10 games.
Next, the Pittsburgh Penguins came to town. A commitment to playing the style that made them successful in previous years by limiting the opponent’s shots was key to a 3-1 victory. Vasilevskiy continued his return to form following offseason back surgery, allowing only a single goal in the final minute of regulation.
Immediately following the Penguin game, the Lightning flew to Nashville for a matchup with the Predators on December 7. An early goal for the Bolts and a fairly evenly played opening period offered hope, but that was quickly dashed in the first five minutes of the middle frame. That stunned Tampa Bay, so much so that they didn’t push back, something head coach Jon Cooper lamented in his postgame comments following the 5-1 loss.
While solid in his time as the starter, backup netminder Jonas Johansson showed his inexperience in this particular game by making only 25 saves on 30 shots. His counterpart, Juuse Saros, made 32 saves.
The Lightning then trekked to the West Coast where they faced the Seattle Kraken. A two-goal first period by the Bolts did not hold up in the second. The two teams traded goals in the final frame, sending the game into overtime. Considering their woes in extra time, anyone still awake had to be thinking “Here we go again.” Brandon Hagel, who won the team’s first overtime game this season versus the Boston Bruins two weeks ago, sped up the ice before sending a perfect pass across to Kucherov who didn’t miss for a 4-3 win.
As many can see, Vasilevskiy has started finding his form after not getting the benefit of a training camp or any American Hockey League (AHL) games before being thrown into the fire following late September back surgery. Beginning December 4, the team was 3-0 in games he started with four goals against. That gave him a save percentage of .949, good for second in the NHL behind Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart last week.
Offensively, Cirelli has begun to heat up after struggling early in the season. He had four goals and two assists for six points to help the Lightning win three of their past four games. Coupled with Kucherov, the two nearly single-handedly willed the team to much-needed victories in a tightly contested Atlantic Division.
Can the Lightning continue their winning ways? While unknown, they need to continue getting contributions from Cirelli and others, plus elite goaltending out of Vasilevskiy. They’ll also need to win on the road, as they will spend this week in Western Canada facing the Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.
ITR 44: We Have A Champion…Again – Inside The Rink
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