.By Michael Wax
The Lightning returned from their holiday break with a 6-2 win over the New York Rangers.
Here are three things we saw from the win:
Push Button Start
The Lightning typically have a tough start coming back from long breaks, and the first period of this game was no different. The Bolts were outshot 17-6 by NY and outscored 1-0 at 5-on-5.
Not really the recipe you want to play as far as being consistent and tough to play against," said Ryan McDonagh. "We gave them a lot of looks, and kind of struggled in our own zone."
On the offensive side, the Bolts had difficulty finishing their opportunities. Thanks to their forechecking and puck pressure, they were able to get plenty of chances, but they could never find the deflection or put home the rebound.
Defensively, the team just seemed to be a step slower. There were many times when the Rangers seemed to be shielding the puck really well and getting the Lightning's defensive switches a bit too late, leading to the shot discrepancy. That, coupled with a few lousy clearing attempts, allowed the Rangers to get on the board to tie it in the first.
A couple of bright notes were that the Lightning were still able to pot two goals in a period in which they struggled (power play and shorthanded), and Andrei Vasilevskiy was fantastic in the opening frame, stopping 16 of 17 shots from the Rangers.
"He was unbelievable tonight," said Anthony Cirelli. "Save after save... they were taking it to us, and he was there to bail us out and get us out of it."
The team exponentially turned around in the second, outscoring and outplaying the Rangers.
Special Teams, Special Players, Special Plays
The Lightning certainly have their special teams to thank for this game looking the way it did.
This was the first game in Lightning history to have two shorthanded and two power play goals in the same contest.
The first power play goal came early, with Point and Kucherov connecting on a cross-ice pass off the rush to get Tampa a 1-0 lead.
After the Rangers started to control play and tied it at one, the Lightning were able to counter while shorthanded. Somehow in a 3-on-1 while down a man, Ryan McDonagh carried the puck the whole way and was able to trickle the puck through Shesterkin for a 2-1 lead. The shorthanded tally was McDonagh's first goal of the sort since
With the game sitting at 3-1 in the second period and the Rangers getting a power play, the game could have still turned on its head. After a missed one-timer, Hagel started a 2-on-1 with Cirelli, and Cirelli buried it for the second shorty of the game.
The 5-1 goal was certainly a result of a little luck, as Point's initial shot was flubbed and he was able to pot the rebound to get another power play goal and, ultimately, to get Shesterkin pulled from the game.
The Lightning would even give up a shorthanded goal of their own just 13 seconds into the third period. But they'll take a +3 on the special team's sheet any day of the week.
That's So Many Games
Add another record to Victor Hedman's collection.
The captain skated in his 1083rd game of his NHL career, passing Steven Stamkos for the most in Tampa Bay Lightning history.
The 2nd overall pick in 2008 has been knocking down many records so far this season, and he continued with this games played record.
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