It’s just past American Thanksgiving, the time in which teams can legitimately assess their postseason chances. Three weeks ago, the Tampa Bay Lightning had struggled to hold leads late in games despite solid goaltending from two career backups, couldn’t win in overtime to save their life, and had a single win in four games away from Amalie Arena. Now, the team has points in five straight after a stretch that saw them lose three of four, including two on home ice.
After blowing another lead and game to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Lightning found themselves with their backs against a wall heading into Montreal. They proceeded to put four on the board in the opening period, chasing Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen in a 5-3 win. Matt Tomkins had a shutout going into the third period and, while the defense made things interesting, he earned his first NHL victory.
Unfortunately, the next three games were not good for the Bolts. A four-goal first period, led by rookie Connor Bedard, sunk the team in a 5-3 loss on home ice. A couple of days later, the offense couldn’t get anything going in a 4-0 shutout by the Carolina Hurricanes. Once back on the road, Jordan Binnington had all the answers in another shutout loss, this time to the St. Louis Blues.
With the offense sputtering, the Lightning turned to their leaders. Defenseman Victor Hedman gave the team a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in the final 10 minutes of regulation after former Bolt Corey Perry tied things early on. Brandon Hagel sealed the deal in the final minute for a 4-2 win that kickstarted a five-game point streak.
Back inside the friendly confines of Amalie Arena to start Thanksgiving week, the Lightning found themselves trailing the Edmonton Oilers 2-0 after 10 minutes. They then fought back with two goals by Nikita Kucherov before giving up the lead late in the middle frame. The two teams went back and forth to start the third before Cole Koepke, in his first game up from AHL Syracuse, found Luke Glendening all alone in front of Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner. One move and Glendening had his first goal with the Bolts, and the team had a lead it wouldn’t blow in a 6-4 win.
Two nights later, the hated Boston Bruins came to Tampa for a big Atlantic Division battle. The Lightning took a 2-1 lead into the third before allowing Boston to score two straight for a one-goal lead. Austin Watson tied things less than a minute later, but Charlie Coyle gave the Bruins another lead with under four minutes remaining. With time ticking away and the Bolts desperate, Kucherov threaded a perfect pass across to captain Steven Stamkos who wasted no time firing the puck on net. It went over the shoulder of goaltender Jeremy Swayman to tie the game at four apiece. Once in overtime, there was little hope among many that Tampa Bay would get the extra point by winning in the extra period. They finally broke their drought though, with Hedman springing Hagel for the overtime game-winner.
On Thanksgiving Eve, the Lightning spotted the Winnipeg Jets a 2-0 lead early before coming back to tie the game. It went to overtime yet again, but Adam Lowry handed the Bolts another loss in extra time.
Black Friday saw the return of Andrei Vasilevskiy from back surgery. He was on point, allowing one goal to Stefan Noesen, in a first period that saw the Lightning fire only one shot on goal. The power play went to work in the second, scoring three goals for a 3-1 lead. Michael Bunting cut it to 3-2 late in the middle frame, but the Bolts stars took it from there. Brayden Point had two of his three goals (five points) on the night, Kucherov notched a career-high six-point night and Stamkos had one goal and one assist in an 8-2 drubbing of the Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina.
While it’s better than blowing multi-goal leads, the Lightning’s struggles early in games are a bit concerning. The offense has been hot lately, but what happens when they go cold and can’t come back from a couple of goals down? It’s not going to be a good thing. Heck, come playoff time spotting an opponent more than a one-goal lead could prove costly.
Can the Lightning continue rolling and clinch a playoff spot? If they can start games on time and play a full 60 minutes there’s a good chance of that.
