Tampa Bay Lightning Extends Win Streak to Six
By Lane Fahey
The month of December stays perfect as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeat the Arizona Coyotes.
A consistency so far this season is winning. The Tampa Bay Lightning is ranked number one in the NHL power rankings for the past nine weeks. With 31 games in the books, and over a third of the season over, the Lightning leads the league with 48 points. The team looks no different on a four-game road trip.
After a 3-0 shutout win against a strong St.Louis Blues team, the Lightning continues the win streak against the Arizona Coyotes in Glendale with a 4-1 win.
The Lightning starts the first period strong with back to back goals. The first a power-play goal from Vladislav Namestnikov, for his third goal in five games. Less than a minute later, Brayden Point scores to extend to a five-game goal streak. The Lightning outshoots the Coyotes in the first period 19-10.
Less than halfway through the second period, Nikita Kucherov added to his league-leading totals with yet another beautiful goal. Initially, it was believed Namestnikov got a piece of the shot and deflected it into the net, but the powers that be recredited the goal to Kucherov.
After some debate and change of the lines throughout the season, the Namestnikov, Kucherov and Steven Stamkos top line proves to be dominating.
Tampa Bay Lightning
In the third period, Tyler Johnson scores early to extend his point streak to six. Five of the six games are multi-point nights for Johnson.
The game got aggressive later on in the night. Point drops the gloves against Brad Richardson, giving Point a Gordie Howe Hat Trick, which consists of a goal, assist and a fight. Chris Kunitz also receives a fighting major against Nick Cousins halfway through the third period.
Andrei Vasilevskiy ends the game with a strong .970 saves percentage, with only one goal off of 33 shots. Vasilevskiy leads the league with 21 wins.
A perfect win to continue a perfect month, with just one flaw for the night. Ryan Callahan left the game with a right arm injury after getting tied up in the boards with Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Up until January 1, 2018, voting for the All-Star captains of each division is available. Currently, both Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov are at the top of the leaderboard for the Atlantic Division. Stamkos, Kucherov, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy are the four Lightning players that are candidates for captain.
Next: 10 Must-Have Gifts For A Lightning Man Cave
The Lightning will continue on to the Pepsi Center where they will take on the Colorado Avalanche. Then, it’s off to the T-Mobile Arena where they will battle the Las Vegas Golden Knights for the very first time. Then the Bolts will come back home for the last four home games of the calendar year. The team closes out 2017 with an early evening game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.