@jayRecher
This kid does NOT want to come out of the lineup.
Two nights after being called upon and scoring in the shootout in the win over the Stars, Lightning rookie Ross Colton scored the game-winner on Thursday night as Tampa Bay defeated the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 4-2.
The young man wearing #79 took a pass from Mathieu Joseph and took off like a rocket into the offensive zone. One quick deke from backhand to forehand and he scored on Chicago netminder Kevin Lankinen to give the Bolts a lead they would not relinquish at the 5:32 mark of the 3rd period.
It wasn't a great start for the Lightning as they went on the penalty kill in the first minute of the game when Barclay Goodrow was whistled for an unsportsmanlike conduct at the 0:47 mark. Goodrow tried to get Connor Murphy to drop the gloves, but he didn't, so the Lightning winger was assessed a penalty.
The infraction came back to bite the Bolts as Mattias Janmark scored on the power play to give Chicago a 1-0 lead.
It was pretty even for the next ten minutes, but Tampa Bay eventually found the equalizer.
Following a solid hit in the corner by Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman found the loose puck & fed it to Alex Killorn behind the net. The Lightning winger scored on Lankinen on the wraparound to make it 1-1.
Less than four minutes later following a tripping call to Lucas Wallmark, the Bolts took the lead when Yanni Gourde's backhander squeezed through the pads of Lankinen and trickled into the net to put Tampa Bay up 2-1.
But the Blackhawks would not let up and scored another power play goal, this one scored by Dylan Strome after an interference call on Patrick Maroon to tie the game at two.
Victor Hedman added an empty-netter late to seal the deal for the Bolts.
Andrei Vasilevskiy was solid in net stopping 19 of the 21 shots he saw. Lankinen had 19 saves on 22 shots.
What A Man!!! : A really nice gesture by the Lightning tonight as they put together a wonderful video package for Victor Hedman, who notched his 500th career point in Tuesday night's win against the Stars. If you missed it, no worries, check out the video below!!
Shaq Attack In The House : During the last TV timeout in the 1st period the Lightning once again played a video package, this one recognizing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers & their Super Bowl victory. After the video played, Bucs OLB Shaq Barrett was shown hanging out in the press box with the Lombardi Trophy and our good pal Greg Wolf. The entire video of that is also below!!
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
- Chicago - PPG - Janmark - (Kubalik, DeBrincat) - 2:10
- Tampa Bay - Killorn - (Hedman) - 13:15
- Tampa Bay - PPG - Gourde - (Sergachev, Vasilevskiy) - 17:02
- Chicago - PPG - Strome - (Janmark, Keith) - 18:45
2nd Period
- NONE
3rd Period
- Tampa Bay - Colton - (Joseph, Maroon) - 5:32
- Tampa Bay - ENG - Hedman - (Unassisted) - 19:34
*****
PENALTY SUMMARY
1st Period
- Tampa Bay - Goodrow - (Unsportsmanlike Conduct) - 0:47
- Chicago - Wallmark - (Tripping) - 15:38
- Tampa Bay - Maroon - (Interference) - 18:08
2nd Period
- Tampa Bay - Gourde - (Tripping) - 0:35
- Chicago - Kurashev - (Hooking) - 5:51
- Tampa Bay - Goodrow - (Boarding) - 13:03
3rd Period
- NONE
*****
What's Next For The Bolts : The Lightning are back in action on Saturday as they once again face the Chicago Blackhawks at Amalie Arena. Puck drop is slated for 4:00pm with the pregame show starting at 3:00pm on NewsRadio WFLA.