6
0
Lightning grind out a win against resolute Preds.
NSH-2
TB-5
Brian Elliott allowed two goals on 36 shots to extended his personal winning streak to six games.
First Period
1:16 TB Point (12), (Cole, Cernak)
2:53 TB Perry (4), (Stamkos, Hedman)(PP)
10:51 NSH Jankowski (3), (unassisted)(SH)
Second Period
12:36 NSH Carrier (1), (Forsberg, Niederreiter)
Third Period
2:14 TB Point (13), (Cirelli, Kucherov)
7:10 TB Paul (12), (Stamkos)
15:40 TB Hagel (8), (Sergachev, Elliott)(SH)
Brayden Point, Elliott, and Steven Stamkos were the game’s three stars.
Nashville isn’t an overly imposing team athletically, but they play well in their structure and they play hard and they test your patience and your resolve. The Lightning jumped out to a 2-0 lead in this one but Nashville regrouped and restructured and really started to be more difficult for the Lightning to get through the neutral zone against, eventually clawing back even at 2-2. Credit to the Lightning for staying patient and eventually putting Nashville to bed by three goals in a game that could’ve easily gone pear shaped.
The Lightning are three points shy of where they’ll want to be for minimum playoff pacing and four points shy of a 12 point segment of 10 games with four games and eight potential points remaining up for grabs. They’ve got a real opportunity here to bank another couple of insurance points heading into 2023.
Nick Perbix had 5 shots, 1 hit, and 1 blocked shot in 19:12 paired with Victor Hedman. If he can solidify that spot in the lineup, I think he’s going to put up some very good numbers given how well he moves the puck and that he’s started show an ability to get pucks on net.
Box score and extended statistics from NHL.com.
