The Lightning have been having an absolutely fantastic season. A big part of that has been because of the stalwarts of the defense. Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman both have been having extremely solid years, but it hasn’t necessarily shown up on the scoring sheet. That changed on Saturday night. Stralman and Hedman both scored as part of a 4-goal stretch in just over 4 minutes in the 2nd period. Stralman added a 2nd goal in the 3rd period to give his team a 4-goal lead again. Gabriel Landeskog did his best to keep his team in the game and scored 3 goals on the night. Colorado even got it to a 1-goal deficit by scoring 3 unanswered goals in the 3rd. The teams traded goals again as Colorado just wouldn’t go away. Peter Budaj had to make some big saves in the closing minutes, but he did to hold on to the 6-5 victory.
The 1st period was a scoreless one, but both teams had a few great scoring chances. Colorado had the better chances earlier on thanks to multiple power plays. Peter Budaj made the most of his chance to start though by making save after save to keep his former team off the board. The Lightning got hot late, but Jonathan Bernier made saves on Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat to keep goose eggs on the board heading to the 2nd period.
While the 1st period was uneventful in terms of scoring, the 2nd was the exact opposite. In a 4-minute stretch near the halfway mark of the frame, the Bolts’ offense exploded. During a 4-on-4 situation Nikita Kucherov started the scoring on a breakaway and was followed seconds later by Anton Stralman to jump the Lightning out to a 2-0 lead. Tampa Bay wasn’t done after that. For most of the night Victor Hedman was the best player on the ice and he got rewarded with a goal. To end that 4 minute stretch Yanni Gourde got his 10th goal of the season to give the Lightning a 4-0 lead in the blink of an eye. Colorado continued to pressure and kept the scoring going shortly after. Gabriel Landeskog got his team on the board and made it a 3-goal deficit.
The Bolts started the 3rd period on the power play because of a dirty hit late in the 2nd by Erik Johnson on Vlad Namestnikov. Tampa Bay couldn’t score on that power play, but got their 5th goal shortly after. Stralman got his 2nd of the night with assists from Gourde and Point to make it a 4-goal game once again. Colorado did their best again to come back from the dead as Landeskog made it a 3-goal deficit once again with his 2nd goal of the night. Landeskog made it even more of a game on the power play minutes later. He tipped in a goal past Budaj to complete his hat trick. The Lightning continued to play with fire and let Colorado climb back even closer. Nathan MacKinnon scored the Avs’ 2nd power play goal of the night to make it just a 1-goal game with a lot of time left. The Bolts’ young defenseman would give them some breathing room though. Mikhail Sergachev followed his mentors by scoring and giving Tampa Bay a 2-goal lead again. The Avalanche just wouldn’t go away. MacKinnon scored his second goal with just under 6 minutes to go to make it a 1-goal game again. Budaj had to make some vital saves in the final minutes, but he was up to the task to hold onto the victory.
The Bolts will have a few days off before concluding their road trip on Tuesday. The Lightning will be in Las Vegas for their 1st ever meeting with the Golden Knights. The puck is scheduled to drop at 10 pm. Pregame coverage will begin at 9:30 on News Radio 970 WFLA.
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
NONE
2ND PERIOD
1. TBL - Kucherov - (Hedman, Gourde) - 9:11
2. TBL - Stralman - (Johnson, Sergachev) - 9:30
3. TBL - Hedman - (Kucherov, Johnson) - 11:22
4. TBL - Gourde - (Killorn, Conacher) - 13:21
5. COL - Landeskog - (Yakupov, Zadorov) - 14:16
3RD PERIOD
1. TBL - Stralman - (Gourde, Point) - 2:29
2. COL - Landeskog - (Barrie, Mackinnon) - 4:58
3. COL - PPG - Landeskog - (Barrie, Rantanen) - 7:17
4. COL - PPG - MacKinnon - (Barrie, Landeskog) - 9:22
5. TBL - Sergachev - (Palat, Stralman) - 11:32
6. COL - Mackinnon - (Zadorov, Landeskog) - 14:14
PENALTY SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
1. TBL - Hedman - (Holding) - 2:38
2. TBL - Coburn - (Delay of Game) - 11:28
2ND PERIOD
1. TBL - Kunitz - (High Sticking) - 2:25
2. COL - Comeau - (Roughing) - 8:20
3. TBL - Conacher - (Roughing) - 8:20
4. COL - Johnson - (Slashing) - 16:57
5. COL - Johnson - (Boarding) - 16:57
6. COL - Johnson - (Game Misconduct) - 16:57
7. TBL - Kucherov - (Roughing) - 16:57
3RD PERIOD
1. TBL - Johnson - (Hooking) - 6:27
2. TBL - Paquette - (Slashing) - 8:50
3. COL - Nemeth - (Holding) - 10:08
4. TBL - Killorn - (Tripping) - 10:16
SHOTS ON GOAL
Tampa Bay - 31
Colorado - 37