Despite a hot streak, the Bolts lose to the Wild in a 3-0 shutout at home.
With a long season of 82 games, there are always going to be ups and downs. While the Tampa Bay Lightning have mainly been on the up this season, the game against Minnesota was a down. Bolts Nation was disappointed in a 3-0 loss against the Minnesota Wild, in hopes to clinch a playoff berth.
The game seemed to be pretty much dominated by the Wild, with limited opportunities for the Bolts. Andrei Vasilevskiy played up to par as normal, however with not much offense generated, Vasilevskiy could only do so much. Jason Zucker scored halfway through the first period to take the lead for the Wild.
After a scoreless second, the Bolts looked to tie the game up in the third. After some back and forth, Adam Erne was shaken up during a play in front of the Bolts’ net. In the midst of chaos, Zucker yet again was able to get past Vasilevskiy and score. However, the goal was immediately called back due to a high stick. The play was reviewed and changed to a goal. Since the goal was originally waved off, it seemed hasty to overturn the call.
Zucker completed the hat trick with an empty net goal and the Wild defeated the Bolts 3-0. The Wild currently sit in the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, only one point behind the Dallas Stars. The Bolts remain at the top of the Eastern Conference with 106 points.
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Going into the game, the Lightning led both power play and penalty kill percentages in the league. After stopping all four power play chances for the Wild, the Bolts still maintained the best penalty kill percentage, at 85.6. Despite not converting on two power plays, the Lightning still lead the NHL with 29 percent.
As a whole, the Wild seemed to shut down the Lightning offense, with many turnovers and puck deflections. The Bolts will look to clinch a playoff spot this Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings. Nikita Kucherov is also looking to break the franchise record for most single-season points. Currently, Kucherov is tied with Vincent Lecavalier for the record with 108 points. Kucherov has 14 games left to break it.