Tampa Bay Lightning dominate the San Jose Sharks to open back-to-back series

The San Jose Sharks may have struck first blood, but the Tampa Bay Lightning would come back to absolutely dominate the San Jose Sharks 5-1 to kick off their back-to-back series.

The Tampa Bay Lightning skated past the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night with a 5-4 shootout victory. There were plenty of holes exposed in the process, but the Lightning would prevail and bring home another two points to add to their league-leading totals.

There was definitely some work that needed to be done in between Saturday and tonight’s puck drop. Thankfully, the Bolts had a couple of days to get their affairs in order before heading out on the road for a trip through the Western Conference. It all started off with a back-to-back series

The first stop on the trip was the SAP Center where they would do battle with the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks were 8-5-0 coming into tonight’s contest against the Lightning. Of course, the standings (as well as the stat sheet) don’t always tell the whole story. (Here’s looking at you, Peter Budaj.)

When the puck dropped in this late night battle, the Lightning looked as if they had things under control. Unfortunately, it would take a mere 24 seconds before the San Jose Sharks would prove otherwise. Sharks winger Joonas Donskoi picked up his fifth goal of the season to give the home team the early lead.

Thankfully, the Lightning has never been known as a team who likes to trail their opponents. Of course, it wouldn’t be a day that ends in ‘Y’ if the Lightning didn’t set some sort of record this season. At 7:17 in the period, Lightning defenseman Jake Dotchin would fire off a slapshot which would beat Sharks netminder Martin Jones and pick up his first-ever NHL goal.

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The Lightning would draw the first Power Play of the night as Sharks defenseman Tim Heed found himself with a one-way ticket to the sin bin for Holding against Lightning alternate captain Ryan Callahan. The Bolts have the number two Power Play in the league but seemed to fall flat in their first opportunity tonight.

The Bolts would give up an opportunity with the man advantage to the Sharks as the refs made a soft call on Lightning defenseman Slater Koekkoek for Slashing against Sharks forward Tomas Hertl. The good news here is the Bolts were able to successfully kill off the penalty.

Before the Bolts had even killed off the penalty, they would end up with a Power Play of their own. This time, it would be Donskoi (who scored the first goal of the game) who would be called to the box for two minutes for Slashing against Lightning winger Ondrej Palat. This means the Bolts would finish off the period on the Power Play.

If you were only looking at the stat sheet, you would be certain the Sharks were leading the Lightning. Surprisingly enough, these two teams would finish off the first 20 minutes of play tied at one goal apiece.

The Sharks absolutely dominated the Lightning in the faceoff circle, going 62-38. Things wouldn’t look much better when fans looked at the Shots on Goal. The Sharks would outshoot the Lightning 11-7 in the first 20 minutes of play. This may not sound so horrible at first glance, but this is not the level a team wants to set the bar on the first night of a back-to-back series.

If the Lightning had any hopes of coming out on top over the Sharks, they would have to slam their feet on the gas when the hit the ice for the second period. Lightning fans may never know what was said in the locker room during intermission, but whatever it was, it certainly did the trick.

Tampa Bay Lightning

While the Sharks were able to kill off the penalty from the first period, this didn’t mean they would keep the Lightning out of the back of the net. Much like the first period, there would be an incredibly early goal. The difference was, this time it would be the Tampa Bay Lightning who would strike.

Tampa Bay Lightning’s leading goal-scorer, Nikita Kucherov, would pick up his league-leading 15^th goal of the season to give the Bolts their first lead of the game. Of course, the assists on the play would go to his linemates Steven Stamkos and Vladislav Namestnikov.

Just before the halfway point in the period, the Lightning would strike once again. This time, it would be Lightning defenseman Slater Koekkoek who would light the lamps for the Bolts. Koekkoek’s second-period goal would be his third goal of the season. Hopefully, Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper will start to see Koekkoek’s worth and start giving him some more ice time.

Koekkoek’s goal would essentially be the end of the night for Sharks netminder Martin Jones. Sharks Head Coach Peter DeBoer would make the call to bring Jones back to the bench. Sharks goalie Aaron Dell would take Jones’ place between the pipes.

Less than three minutes later, the Lightning would strike for the third time in the second period. Once again, the Lightning’s magic line would do what they do best. Namestnikov’ goal would serve as his second point of the night. Who would the assists on the Namestnikov goal go to? Stamkos and Kucherov, who else?

The Lightning would finish off the second period of play with a 4-1 lead over the Sharks. The Sharks would still lead the way in the faceoff circle, but the Bolts would pick up some serious ground in the Shots on Goal department. In the second period, the Lightning would outshoot the Sharks 14-9 for a two-period total of 21-20.

It’s plain to see the Bolts dominated the second period of play. The question was now, could the Lightning hold on to this lead and slam the door on the Sharks in the third period. Typically, the Lightning has always been a strong third-period team, but you can never count a team out until the final buzzer sounds.

Just before the five-minute mark in the third period, the Lightning would find themselves on their fourth Power Play opportunity of the night as Sharks forward Joe Thornton would head to the penalty box for two minutes for Holding against Namestnikov.

Ironically enough, It was Namestnikov who would capitalize on the Lightning’s opportunity with the man advantage to extend their lead over the Sharks to four goals. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. The Lightning would deliver five unanswered goals, starting with the Dotchin goal in the first period. Now, this is how you make an impact on the first night of a back-to-back.

There are few words which can accurately describe who undervalued Vladislav Namestnikov has been this season. Vladdy would pick up a total of three points in tonight’s contest; two goals (in a row) and an assist. While the spotlight has been on his two linemates, Vladdy has been there making plays happen.

The play would forge on, but neither team would be able to put the puck in the back of the net in the remaining time. When the final buzzer sounded, the Tampa Bay Lightning would deliver a soul-crushing loss to the San Jose Sharks by the score of 5-1.

Things definitely didn’t start off the way the Lightning would’ve wanted; however, when all was said and done, the Lightning was able to work together like the well-oiled machine they’ve become and take a page out of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s book and absolutely lay the smackdown on the Sharks.

Unfortunately, the Lightning doesn’t have a whole lot of time to relish in their victory. In less than 24 hours, the Lightning will charge into the Staples Center to take on captain Anze Kopitar and the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings picked up an overtime victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night. This means they will have a little bit of an advantage coming into tomorrow night’s (technically it’s today, but we’re going to ignore our exhaustion) contest as they are rather well-rested.

The Lightning has all they need in order to get the job done for the second night in a row. They simply need to continue to be aggressive with the puck and set the pace of the game early. Also, they will need to set a pace they can maintain for all 60 minutes of hockey.

There are plenty of questions moving into the second half of their back-to-back series. Will Andrei Vasilevskiy be between the pipes or will Peter Budaj get the nod against the Kings? Will Slater Koekkoek remain in the lineup? How long until Cedric Paquette returns to the ice? As game time approaches, we’re sure the bigger picture will come into view and hopefully, these questions will all be answered.

Next: Vasilevskiy's Success Will Force Budaj To Suffer

It’s going to be another long night for Lightning fans. The puck is scheduled to drop at 10:30 pm EST. The biggest difference is the game will be broadcast on Sun Sports. (Can we get a hallelujah?) We’ll be back behind the keys to bring you all the latest action between the Lightning and Kings. Until then, we bid you goodnight.