Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point kicked off his 21st birthday right, bringing home a Power Play Goal for the Bolts against the New York Rangers.
The Tampa Bay Lightning was faced with a tough challenge tonight. The Bolts were set to take on the New York Rangers for the third and final time this season in the first game of a back-to-back series. The Lightning hadn’t fared too well against the Blueshirts this season, but the Bolts were about to change all this.
Unfortunately for the Lightning, the first period didn’t exactly start off the way one would’ve hoped. Just 5:53 into the first period, Rangers defenseman Steven Kampfer was able to beat Lightning netminder Peter Budaj and open up the scoring for the New York Rangers.
Thankfully, it wouldn’t be long before the Tampa Bay Lightning came along with a goal of their own. Of course, they did get a little assistance from the Rangers first. At 6:55 in the first period, Rangers defenseman Brendan Smith would find himself with a one-way ticket to the sin bin for Tripping against Gabriel Dumont.
Tampa Bay Lightning
This would open the door for the Lightning to undertake the first Power Play of the night. This is where things started to get really interesting for the Lightning and their fans watching at home.
The Lightning would find themselves battling for the puck in the offensive zone. As usual, the Lightning’s leading goal-scorer, Nikita Kucherov, found himself embroiled in the battle. Kucherov would finally fully gain control of the puck behind the Rangers net.
This is where he saw the well-positioned Brayden Point waiting in front of the net. Once Kucherov found his opening, he would fire the puck to Point. Before the Rangers defense had an opportunity to close in on him, Point fired the puck towards the net.
The puck collided with the goal post to the right of Rangers goaltender Antti Raanta, changed direction and sailed right into the back of the net, tying things up for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Not enough has been said about the tremendous speed, stick handling ability and goal-scoring prowess Brayden Point possesses in his arsenal. For someone who is currently in his first season in the National Hockey League, Point is quickly proving not only why he deserves to be here, but the fact he deserves to be here for many more seasons to come.
Thankfully, Brayden Point is currently under contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning until the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, when he will officially become a Restricted Free Agent. This is definitely a player Yzerman will be looking long and hard at before his contract comes calling.
The Tampa Bay Lightning has a lot more hockey in front of them at this point in time. If they want to emerge victoriously over the Blueshirts tonight, they are going to need to put more pucks on the net and be a little stronger in the defensive zone.
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If the team can accomplish this, they will not only bring home a much-needed two points and kick off their back-to-back series on the right foot, but they will also find themselves one step closer to reaching their ultimate goal, procuring a spot in the postseason.