Tampa Bay Lightning Highlights: Victor Hedman Lights The Lamp Early (Video)
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman breaks the ice and gets the Lightning on the board early at the American Airlines Center against the Dallas Stars.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has had five days off since their last encounter. While an extended break like this is a double-edged sword, the Lightning seems to be making the most of their opportunity as they make their way into the American Airlines Center to kick off a back-to-back weekend series by taking on the Dallas Stars.
It definitely took a while for the Lightning to get to the place they are in right now, performance wise, but the important thing right now is they keep momentum on their side and continue to bring home much-needed points on a consistent basis.
The Lightning certainly got off to a good start when it comes to that very subject tonight against the Dallas Stars. In fact, it took the whole of three minutes for the Lightning to charge into action and set the tone for the first period of play.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning were battling for puck possession in the offensive zone. Lightning center Valtteri Filppula was able to get his stick on the puck and send it forward to Lightning defenseman Jake Dotchin. Instead of passing the puck, like the Lightning has been notorious for lately, he fired the puck towards the net.
As the puck sailed towards the net, Lightning center Brian Boyle got his stick on the puck and offered up a slight redirection. Unfortunately, Dallas Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen would get a piece of the puck and make the save. Despite the save, it would be Dallas who would be seeing Stars.
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman was well-placed in front of the net and chomping at the bit to get his stick on the rebound. Before Lehtonen had any idea what was going on, Hedman had the puck in the back of the net, opening up the scoring for the Bolts.
This play embodies two aspects we have been discussing all season long. The first of these is taking more shots from the blueline. It may not seem like the best tactic in the entire world, considering the distance between the blueline and the goal, but with the Lightning’s level of firepower, it could be a secret weapon.
Another aspect this goal embodies it the importance of the rebound. The Tampa Bay Lightning have benefitted greatly over the course of the last four games from capitalizing on the rebound. As we have said many times before, even the most elite goalies can’t be everywhere at once. The more you pepper the goaltender, the better chance your puck will hit the back of the net.
On a side note, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the lack of hesitation on this play. The Lightning has a horrible, nagging habit of hesitating on the play and making one too many passes. Both Dotchin and Hedman wasted no time in firing off the puck and trusting their instincts.
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There is still a lot of hockey to play in this game, but if the Tampa Bay Lightning can continue to play the way they have over the course of the first three minutes of play, the Bolts are going to find themselves in a rather good position when the final buzzer sounds.