6
0
Two the hard(er) way.
TB-4
DAL-3 (SO)
Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed three goals on 27 shots before stopping two of three in the penalty shot session for the SO victory.
First Period
3:55 TB Point (11), (Palat, Cirelli)
Second Period
9:05 DAL Heiskanen (3), (Pavelski, Robertson)(PP)
14:20 TB Joseph (7), (Maroon, Colton)
Third Period
11:49 TB Stamkos (14), (Hedman, Point)(PP)
17:54 DAL Benn (5), (Heiskanen, Pavelski)
18:35 DAL Radulov (4), (Benn, Robertson)
Overtime
NO SCORING
Shootout
TB- Colton, Point
DAL- Robertson
Brayden Point and Victor Hedman were the game’s first and second stars.
Dallas almost pulled off the heist, but ultimately the Lightning got the two points in a game they dominated for seemingly 90% of the play. They deserved the win after asserting their dominance in one of the more one sided First Periods you’ll ever see from a possession standpoint. Dallas got back in it with some great individual play by veterans and tied it up with some puck luck off of Radulov’s leg. Thankfully, the Lightning managed to pull it out in the skill competition gimmick or this may have been a very different blog post.
Mathieu Joseph’s 7 goals through 28 games would pro-rate to 21 goals in an 82 game campaign. Just sayin’.
Cal Foote was +2 with 2 penalty minutes, 3 shots, and 2 hits in 10:57.
Ross Colton had a helper and was +1 with 2 shots and 4 hits in 9:56. He was also 56% on nine draws and scored in the Shootout. When he was called up, I thought he had a chance of sticking given Mitchell Stephens’ injury and what I thought might be a good fit at center on the Lightning’s fourth line. I haven’t seen anything to dissuade me from that gut instinct yet. How things play out when Stephens gets healthy remains to be seen, but although Colton doesn’t have quite the same sandpaper qualities that Mitchell brings he’s not a shrinking violet and he brings a little more speed and skill to the table. What I saw tonight from that fourth line of Maroon/Colton/Joseph legitimately gave me flashbacks of the MRS line circa about 2003. Not saying any of those guys are Fredrik Modin, Brad Richards, or Martin St. Louis, but the way those guys cycled by using the bulk of Maroon (he’d be the Modin) to hold the puck and watching Colton and Joseph dart in and out orbiting around him (they’d be Richards and St. Louis) was a bit like tasting an old snack I hadn’t had in several years but always really enjoyed. “Oh yeah, I forgot about them but Fritos are really good!” Oh yeah, that kind of vintage old school cycling game like the Lightning used to play is really enjoyable to watch.
Box score and extended statistics from NHL.com.
