Tampa Bay Lightning Power Play Comes Alive In Win Over Buffalo Sabres

The Tampa Bay Lightning finished off the season series against the Buffalo Sabres on a high note with a 3-0 shutout win at the Amalie Arena.

Final. 0. 12. 3. 23

After stumbling and bumbling through the past month or more, the Tampa Bay Lightning power play is beginning to once again show signs of life. That was evident in two of their past three games, including tonight’s 3-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres.

Early on, the Lightning looked sloppy and disinterested. Blind passes and atrocious zone coverage led to more turnovers than those the team faced on Monday’s trade deadline day.

They also allowed the Sabres to control play, leading to several quality chances that were thwarted by rookie netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Finally, midway through the opening frame the Bolts top line of Steven Stamkos, Ryan Callahan and Alex Killorn decided enough was enough.

Another effort like the one they put forth Sunday against the Florida Panthers wouldn’t cut it, even against a Sabres team only trying to stay afloat.

So they went to work. A few big hits here and there jump-started the offense, followed by an extended shift in the Sabres zone. Defenseman Andrej Sustr sent the puck to Killorn, who then passed to a wide open Stamkos in the slot. The captain didn’t miss, rifling the puck past Lindback for a 1-0 Lightning lead.

In the opening minutes of the middle frame, special teams took center stage. Rasmus Ristolainen and Andrej Meszaros took penalties a little over a minute apart, giving the Lightning a 45 second 5-on-3 opportunity.

Valtteri Filppula and Tyler Johnson played catch with one another behind the net, waiting for defenseman Zach Bogosian to over commit. Johnson then passed to a wide open Ryan Callahan who put the puck past a dazed-looking Lindback. 2-0 Lightning and all of a sudden the Sabres looked kind of lost.

Noticing that, Victor Hedman unleashed a blast that beat Anders Lindback seconds before Andrej Meszaros‘ penalty was set to expire. It was 3-0 and the Lightning were feeling good.

Braydon Coburn, acquired early Monday morning from the Philadelphia Flyers at about the same time a large group of Bolt fans were arriving home following Sunday evening’s game in Sunrise, even left an impression by fighting Marcus Foligno. Both received matching five minute majors, leaving the score 3-0 Lightning after 40 minutes.

On we went to the final frame. This ended up being a goaltenders duel, with Lindback and Vasilevskiy matching each other save for save.

A couple of mental lapses gave the Sabres some late life, but the 20-year-old Vasilevskiy made sure nothing came from it. He recorded 28 saves altogether in earning his first NHL shutout. The Lightning won 3-0.

I’m probably not the only one feeling as if it were about time the power play woke up. Too many of these lost opportunities have resulted in defeats before, and the Lightning could ill afford having that occur tonight. Not against a Sabres team sitting so far in last place that the first overall draft pick this summer should be handed to them now out of sheer pity.

Defensively, the Lightning still have many areas which need improvement. Puck management wasn’t at its best, which could prove costly against playoff-caliber teams. The urgency level didn’t match that of their opponent in the early going as well, something that must change if there’s any chance of making noise come postseason time.

Right now, the Tampa Bay Lightning sit at 84 points, three behind the Montreal Canadiens for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. Perhaps more importantly though, they widened their lead over the Detroit Red Wings to three points in the race for home ice advantage during the playoffs.

The Lightning continue this three game home stand Thursday night, hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs who earned their first road win since New Year’s Eve in what turned out to be one of the craziest scenes in recent hockey history, 3-2 over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. Puck drop’s set for 7:30 p.m. EST.

What are your thoughts regarding the Tampa Bay Lightning’s win over the Buffalo Sabres? Do you think the power play’s slowly coming back to life? Was Braydon Coburn as advertised in his Bolts debut? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.

Next: Tampa Bay Lightning Trade Radko Gudas To The Philadelphia Flyers

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