The Tampa Bay Lightning got out of Boston with the win and the two points. Did they deserve the two points? Probably not. But did they get them? Yes. And they’ve got Andrei Vasilevskiy to thank for it. He deserved to be the first, second, third, and probably the fourth and fifth star of the game.
Tampa did not have their best game but managed to find a way to earn the victory in overtime with Steven Stamkos’ overtime winner. Vasilevskiy kept the team in the game and helped the Lightning steal a victory on the road against a team who outplayed them for the majority of the game. The Lightning got some bounces, and the goalie was on and that’s the moral of the story.
Let’s break down how it happened in the first meeting with the Bruins since the 2020 playoffs.
1. Raddysh Gets his First
Taylor Raddysh has been knocking on the door of late. It took 22 games, but Raddysh finally recorded his first goal in the NHL. The rookie opened the scoring in the first period with an end-to-end shorthanded goal. Raddysh carried the puck up the ice with speed and turned Bruins’ defenseman Mike Reilly inside out and scored a beauty on his backhand. Raddysh showed a great burst of speed and the skill to finish the play. A highlight reel goal to open his NHL career goal scoring account.
2. Game of Bounces
Tampa Bay was on the positive end of a few bounces on the way to going ahead 2-0 in the second period. Boston’s David Pastrnak rang a snapshot off the post and then Taylor Hall fired a tough shot that Vasilevskiy saved most of and would then hit the outside of the post. After surviving a flurry of chances by the Bruins, the Lightning were the beneficiaries of another fortunate bounce second later. Ondrej Palat’s centering feed bounced off a Boston skate and found the back of the net for the Lightning’s second goal of the game. The bounces would even out in the third period as Boston got a hometown bounce off a glass support that help spring the tying goal to make it 2-2.
3. Vasilevskiy Steals the Show
To say the least, the Lightning did not play their best in front of Andrei Vasilevskiy in this one. Boston had a number of breakaways and odd man rushes against a Lightning defense that looked disjointed at times. The final shot totals favored Boston 39-25. Vasilevskiy was on his game and the steady volume of shots helped keep him hot throughout.
4. Another Lead Slips
For the second time in three games, the Lightning let a multi goal lead slip away. While it may not have been the most deserved two goal lead, Boston’s chances were piling up and they were able to make it 2-2 early in the third period. This trend has been a bit troubling of late but once again the Lightning bent but did not break as they were able to get the game to overtime to earn a point and find the winner to get the second one.
5. Stamkos Wins it in OT
The captain helped salvage a victory for the Lightning in overtime for his second overtime game winner of the season. Tampa was able to survive a breakaway opportunity for Pastrnak, one of the league’s top goal scorers. Immediately after the breakaway, Stamkos and Palat had a 2-on-1 chance and Stamkos did not mess around. He roofed a slapshot on the short side to beat Boston’s Jeremy Swayman for the game winner. The goal was Stamkos’ first as a now father of two boys and brought him into a tie with Martin St. Louis for the franchise lead in game-winning goals with 64.