Just over five minutes into the second period of Tuesday’s Eastern Conference matchup against the New York Islanders, the Tampa Bay Lightning faced an abbreviated 5-on-3 penalty kill in a 1-1 game.
Tampa Bay fought back to even strength without allowing a goal, and the visitors took the momentum from there—the Lightning scored twice in under a three-minute span and never trailed in a 4-1 win at UBS Arena.
The Lightning improved to 44-25-5 this season with Tuesday’s win, one that opened a four-game road trip.
“I liked the way we competed,” Lightning captain Victor Hedman said. “What I probably liked the most was the third period. We didn’t give up anything and spent a lot of time in their end. That’s how we’re gonna win on the road and down the stretch here. In the playoffs that’s the kind of game we want to play.”
Tuesday marked the Lightning’s fourth straight win, one that opened with Oliver Bjorkstrand’s 20th goal of the season. Bjorkstrand redirected a point shot by defenseman Darren Raddysh 8:46 into the game to beat Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin.
The Islanders evened the score with a shorthanded goal by Bo Horvat for a 1-1 game through 20 minutes, but Tampa Bay took over in period two.
Despite having to erase back-to-back penalties, including 13 seconds of a 5-on-3 only 5:13 into the period, Tampa Bay’s penalty kill unit allowed only one shot on goal over the extended disadvantage.
“That was huge for us. The PK was big today,” Hedman said. “For us, we’ve obviously put a lot of emphasis on special teams, and the PK was big for us today.”
The Lightning outscored the Islanders 2-0 in the second period despite being outshot 9-6.
Jake Guentzel’s 38th goal of the season regained the Lightning lead shortly after the penalty kill. Nikita Kucherov chased for a loose puck in the left corner, drawing multiple Islanders to follow his lead. Kucherov sifted a swift pass to an open Guentzel at the right post, and the latter buried the puck for a 2-1 lead 8:09 into period two.
Hedman pushed the advantage further with 9:19 left in the second period on another pass from Kucherov, who gained the offensive zone before waiting to find an open Hedman in the high slot.
Hedman’s shot ripped through the blocker of Sorokin after Guentzel drew a defender to the net. The goal was Hedman’s 60th point of the season and featured the 300th career assist for Guentzel.
Tampa Bay held the Islanders off the scoreboard in the third period before forward Nick Paul found the empty net with 3:31 remaining to close the scoring and cap a 4-1 win in the team's opener on their final extended road trip of the season.
“We’re just getting ready for the playoffs,” Paul said. “Playoffs is tight games, you know, 1-1, 1-0, 2-1. Real tight, low-scoring games. If we can just play hard defense and just keep building for the rest of the games out here, that’s what we want to do.”
Benjamin’s Three Stars:
- Nikita Kucherov, TBL (2 assists)
- Jake Guentzel, TBL (Goal, assist)
- Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL (28 saves, win)
Bolts Best Player of the Month: Andrei Vasilevskiy
The title belt for Bolts Best Player of the Month has been passed to Andrei Vasilevskiy for his stellar play throughout March.
The Bolts netminder has been a force down the stretch, finishing the month with two shutouts, seven wins and a 2.09 GAA. And it’s not like the Big Cat was lacking in competition, with Nikita Kucherov earning First Star honors from the NHL just this week.
Vasilevskiy has returned to Vezina finalist form this season, leading the Bolts to a +69 goal differential and a shot at the Atlantic division crown. He’s currently sitting at 36 wins and six shutouts with a .922 save percentage and 2.18 GAA—lofty stats which include a few of Vasy’s signature highlight-reel saves.
Up next, Vasilevskiy will look to help Tampa Bay clinch the playoffs for the tenth time in his storied career.
