Tampa Bay Lightning Highlights: Nikita Kucherov Adds Fuel To The Fire (Video)
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov adds to the Triplets’ fire by notching yet another goal for the trio in the third period against the Edmonton Oilers.
The Tampa Bay Lightning is absolutely on fire tonight as they take on the Edmonton Oilers. Of course, there is a lot on the line tonight for the Bolts, so it comes as no surprise they decided to bring their ‘A’ game against the eight place Oilers tonight as they kick off a four-game homestand at the Amalie Arena.
Undeniably, the biggest contributors to the Lightning’s lead right now have been the combined efforts of the newly reunited Triplets. From the moment the puck dropped, the Lightning has been in control of this game.
In fact, it was a mere 4:26 into the first period when Ondrej Palat would open up the scoring for the Bolts and essentially set the pace for the remainder of the game. As one could easily imagine, the lone assist on Palat’s first goal was attributed to his linemate Nikita Kucherov.
Tampa Bay Lightning
In the second period, this time just 16 seconds into the period, Palat would strike once again, increasing the Lightning’s lead over the Oilers to two. This time, the entire trio – Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, and Nikita Kucherov – were involved in the goal.
Unfortunately for the Bolts, the Oilers would find a way to slip the puck past Lightning netminder Ben Bishop just around the halfway point in the second period with a goal from Oilers forward Iiro Pakarinen, lessening the Lightning’s lead to a single goal once again.
When the Lightning and Oilers hit the ice for the third period of play, the Lightning knew they would have to keep their feet on the gas if they wanted to protect their lead and bring home points for the seventh game in a row. Thankfully for the Lightning and their fans, this is exactly what the Bolts did.
Much like the second period, the Lightning decided to strike in the opening minute of the period. This time, it was just 49 seconds into the third period.
The play started in the Lightning zone with Tyler Johnson racing towards the neutral zone. Just before crossing the blueline into the neutral zone, Johnson would send the puck across the ice to the waiting stick of Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman.
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As Stralman made his way into the offensive zone, he used a drop pass to get the puck to the stick of the Lightning’s leading goal-scorer, Nikita Kucherov. Kucherov would take a lap around the front of the net.
When he could clearly see there was no one open to assist him, he decided to take a chance, be a little selfish, and take the shot himself. As you can guess, this paid dividends for the Lightning.
It has been said many times before, but talent like this bears repeating. The chemistry between the Triplets is almost uncanny. The strangest part of the whole thing is it doesn’t matter who you pair them up with defensively, they always seem to know where one another are on the ice and the best way to put the puck in the back of the net.
If there was ever a game where you could say the Triplets put in a clinic in game play, tonight would be that game. It’s just mildly surprising it came against a team like the Edmonton Oilers who have such talented players as Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and more.
Speaking of Connor McDavid, the Lightning defense essentially rendered the NHL’s leading point scorer irrelevant in tonight’s encounter. This is an accomplishment if we have ever seen one.
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The clock is ticking, and there isn’t much time left. The Tampa Bay Lightning has been stellar thus far, and if they continue to play the way they have over the course of the first two periods of play, the Bolts should have no issues in bringing home the two points and extending their point streak to seven.