Tampa Bay Lightning: High scoring 1st Period leads to win over Chicago Blackhawks
With four goals in the first, the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Chicago Blackhawks and stand atop the Eastern Conference.
After winning at home against the Florida Panthers, the Tampa Bay Lightning looked to beat the Chicago Blackhawks and maintain the lead in the Eastern Conference.
With Andrei Vasilevskiy out with a fractured foot, goaltender Louis Domingue was in net for his sixth consecutive start. Domingue has proved vital for the Bolts and performed well yet again against the Blackhawks.
The first period started out fast for the Bolts, in a period that typically is not nominated by the Lightning. 29 seconds in, Tyler Johnson scores one past the Blackhawks. Johnson is now on a line with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov after coach Jon Cooper mixed the lines up during the Nashville Predators game.
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This line continued to dominate as Johnson scored again seven minutes later, and Brayden Point less than three minutes after that. 10 minutes into the game the Bolts are up 3-0 and the Johnson-Point-Kucherov line has a combined seven points.
Soon after, Blackhawks forward Artem Anisimov scores to put the Blackhawks on the board. Ryan Callahan closes out the first period, scoring his third of the season.
Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews scored in the second period to cut the Bolts lead to two. The scoring ends there, and the Lightning wins 4-2.
While the Bolts never trailed in the game, the Lightning did trail in shots on goal. A few of the goals were soft goals let in by Corey Crawford, and it will not always be that easy. In order to continue to win, the Lightning has to focus on effective passing and effective shooting.
Domingue had 30 saves and a .938 save percentage for the night. The Bolts take on the New Jersey Devils next, and the question is whether or not Domingue will play again. With Vasilevskiy’s injury, Eddie Pasquale was called up from the AHL and may receive his first NHL start soon.
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The Tampa Bay Lightning now has 33 points in the 23 games played and is tied with the Nashville Predators for the best team in the league.