This was a game that most expected the Tampa Bay Lightning to win against a team that was tied for second fewest points in the NHL. And despite the chance to sweep the Detroit Red Wings looking bleak halfway through the game, the Bolts battled back to defeat the Wings 5-4.
The Red Wings came out flying early on, netting two goals on just six shots in the first 20 minutes. The first came on a rocket one-timer from Madison Bowey, giving him his first goal in a Wings sweater. Darren Helm would score the second for Detroit on a 2-on-1 shorthanded opportunity where Nikita Kucherov was the only man back for the Bolts after J.T. Miller couldn’t corral a backhanded pass from Victor Hedman. Kucherov played to eliminate a cross-ice pass to the other breaking Red Wing, Luke Glendening, leaving Andrei Vasilevskiy to take care of Helm. Vasy failed to stop Helm’s wrister as it snuck through the five-hole.
The Bolts finished the first period strong with a some good shifts and solid zone time which they undoubtedly hoped would lead to a strong start in the second. It didn’t.
Justin Abdelkader put the Red Wings up 3-0 with just Detroit’s eighth shot on net. It was an uncharacteristic start for Vasilevskiy, allowing the Bolts to fall into such a big hole early on. But the blame was not just on Vasilevskiy as the Bolts gave up too many opportunities to the opposition, including another 2-on-1 shorthanded chance for the Wings midway through the second. Fortunately Hedman would break up that chance by getting his stick in the path of a cross-ice pass attempt.
The Bolts finally got on the board during that same power play, with Stamkos scoring his 35th goal of the year, burying the puck shortside on Jimmy Howard. Stamkos’ goal would tie him with Vincent Lecavalier’s franchise record of 383 goals in a Lightning uniform. It was a historic feat that the Bolts would hope lead to an inspired comeback effort. And oh boy did it ever.
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Brayden Point found the back of the net less than three minutes into the third, for his 38th goal on the season, after some beautiful passing and a clean setup by Kucherov and Stamkos. A delay of game penalty at the 8:20 mark to Luke Witkowski would prove to be very costly, as Kucherov found the back of the net off a screaming slapshot just four seconds into the power play. Then, before they could even announce the scoring play for Kucherov’s goal, Tyler Johnson deflected a blueline blast from Erik Cernak to give the Bolts their first lead of the game.
Despite numerous sloppy turnovers along the blueline and giving up multiple odd-man rushes to Detroit for most of the game, Tampa Bay dominated late by controlling much of the pace of play throughout the rest of the third. Kucherov found the net again off a nice feed from Point to give the Bolts a 5-3 lead. It was going to sound like music to Bolts fans ears to say “five unanswered goals” but that wouldn’t be the case as Michael Rasmussen would net a scrappy, sloppy 6-on-5 goal for the Wings, giving them some life late in the third.
It wouldn’t be enough though as the Bolts secured the 5-4 win and the season-series sweep over the Red Wings.
When the Bolts are flowing, they look almost unstoppable. This team has shown time and time again how effective and potent their offense can be. But the Lightning only appeared to be flexing their offensive muscle in spurts. Fortunately they flexed it big time in the third and were able to mount a big comeback over a team that they should have outplayed from the start.
Credit to Jimmy Howard for stopping a number of solid chances by this Lightning offensive threat, but the final result goes to show that this Lightning team won’t quit, even in a situation that does not demand “must-win” hockey.
Notable Nuts and BOLTS:
-The Lightning tied their franchise-best 54 win mark (set last season)
-Stamkos tied Lecavalier’s franchise record with 383 goals as a Lightning
-Tampa Bay has now defeated Detroit in 15-straight regular season games
-The Bolts are now 46-1 when their defense scores two or more points in a game