Lightning shake off a slow start and avoid the trap game to regain division’s top spot.
OTT-2
TB-5
Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed two goals on 27 shots for the victory. Honestly, I think he was struggling readjusting to the indoor sight lines a bit. Fortunately, he didn’t have much to do the last 55 minutes of the game.
First Period
1:11 OTT Ennig (6), (Chabot, Brown)
3:43 OTT Sanford (9), (White, Tkachuk)
7:15 TB Kucherov (10), (Point)
14:49 TB Point (21), (Palat, Rutta)
Second Period
5:18 TB Stamkos (26), (Kucherov, Point)(PP)
16:08 TB Perry (15), (Maroon, McDonagh)
Third Period
9:02 TB Sergachev (3), (Point)
Brayden Point, Mikhael Sergachev, and Nikita Kucherov were the game’s three stars.
Frankly, this had all the makings of a trap game coming off the Stadium Series victory and the Lightning opened flat as a pancake. It’s a testament to the character of the group they got the ship righted so quickly and were able to ultimately transform this into a laugher. And, with the win, the Lightning move into first place in the Atlantic Division and still have a game in hand on second place. LOL, Sunrise.
Box score and extended statistics from NHL.com.