4
0
Game. Gonzo.
TB-3
DAL-2 (SO)
Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed two goals on 24 shots before stopping two of four in the penalty shot session for the SO win.
First Period
4:35 TB Hagel (32), (Cirelli, Kucherov)
Second Period
7:21 TB Cirelli (23), (Hagel, Gourde)
7:58 DAL Back (4), (Blackwell, Steel)
13:48 DAL Marchment (17), (Benn, Duchene)(PP)
Third Period
NO SCORING
Overtime
NO SCORING
Shootout
TB- Guentzel, Kucherov, Goncalves
DAL- Robertson, Duchene
Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli were the game’s first and third stars.
Impressive showing by the Lightning against one of the strongest rosters in the league. Really, this could’ve (probably should’ve) been a comfortable regulation win but for the let down shift against Dallas’ fourth line after Cirelli staked them to the 2-0 lead and some wasted chances like a 2-on-0. Credit where due, DeSmith played well in goal for Dallas to help the Lightning with the wasting. The shot margin, which favored the Lightning 38-24, in my opinion was a good indicator of who deserved to win and thankfully Goncalves et al came up big in the Gary Bettman Memorial End of Game Gimmick to secure the second point I felt they richly deserved.
Toronto won tonight and Sunrise was idle, so the state of play in the standings sees the Lightning two points behind those two teams with a game in hand on each. The Lightning have an underrated tricky game at altitude against Utah next before their annual wild/weird game in Las Vegas. That’s why tonight’s two points were great to bank. It doesn’t get much easier from here.
Box score and extended statistics from NHL.com.
