By Jake Ricker
The Lightning faced off against the Washington Capitals, looking to extend their winning streak to an impressive eight games, but would have to do it against one of the NHL's top teams. Here are a few things we noticed from the Lightning's 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals.
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Vasilevskiy has been amazing over his last 10 games (Including Washington) going 9-0-1 with a 1.60 GAA a .947 SV%, and 2 shutouts. Vasielvskiy finished the game against the Capitals with 20 saves on 21 shots with the only goal he allowed comming from Alex Ovechkin late in the third period.
Vasilevskiy is at the top og his game and just might be playing the best hockey of his career right now. If this keeps up, there is no telling how high the Lightning can go. While a Vezina trophy might be out of reach this season with Hellebuyck leading in wins, save percentage, and goals against average, Vasilevskiy is certainly making a case. Not to mention that Vasilevskiy even has two assists in his last 10 games, so he's also contributing offensively.
Mitchel Chaffee
Chaffee has been up and down at times this season but pulled off a great power-play goal against the Capitlas to get the Lightning off to a 1-0 lead. The shot almost looked like a pass to Guenzel but was so well-placed that it snuck in on the far right side. Chaffee has a lot of potential when it comes to his shot but doesn't always get a chance to show it off. If he can find some consistency, he can be a much-needed boost to the Lightning's bottom 6.
Gage Goncalves
Only having played in 37 games this season, we haven't seen a ton of Goncalves, but he has been on a tare as of late. With 7 points in his last 10 games, we are getting a glimpse of the upside Goncalves brings to the table. His scoring ability is good, and he can also play solid defense. Another potentially big boost to the Lightning's bottom 6.
While it remains to be seen what JBB will do at the trade deadline or who will fill out the Lightning's bottom 6. Goncalves is making a case for him to stay in the lineup with his consistent production.
Next up, the Lightning will look to extend their win streak to 9 as they face off against the Florida Panthers on Monday, March 3rd, in the first half of a back-to-back. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 PM EST at Amerant Bank Arena.
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