By Michael Wax
The Lightning defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-2, bouncing back from their two game winning streak on the night Steven Stamkos was honored for his 500th NHL goal. Nick Perbix returned after missing four games with a lower-body injury, replacing Cal Foote. Here are a three things we noticed from the win.
Storybook
The pregame ceremony for Steven Stamkos was incredible. A video package narrated by Phil Esposito kicked off the proceedings, along with special congratulations videos from fellow 500-goal club members Dave Andreychuk, Sidney Crosby, and Alexander Ovechkin.
After he was honored, Stamkos capped off the chaotic game with the game-winning goal, a fitting ending to a fantastic game. Through all of Stamkos' hardships, he earned every single one of those 500 goals, and his ceremony was one to remember.
Unlikely Duo
Corey Perry and Ross Colton, as a duo, were very impressive in this one. Perry put up two goals, both off of redirections from slap-shots off of the stick of Ross Colton. While the first one may have been a split-second reaction from Perry, the second one was a perfectly calculated move from Colton. Colton has had a down year compared to last year, but his play with Perry seems to have picked up whenever he plays with Perry. Maybe they make a change on that third line.
Undisciplined
The Lightning and Wild combined for nine power plays in this game, and the worst part is that they should've had more. This game got out of hand very quickly, and the officiating put their stamp on it early with several no-calls/soft calls. The height of the ridiculousness came in the second period, where Brandon Hagel was blatantly tripped with no call, only for Mikhail Sergachev to get called for a hook 15 seconds later. Hagel was incensed, and received a 10-minute misconduct penalty. While the anger was understandable, and perhaps justified, the Lightning needed to do a much better job of maintaining their composure and staying disciplined.
Three Stars
1. Stamkos (TBL)
2. Perry (TBL)
3. Colton (TBL)
The Lightning's next game will be against the Boston Bruins on Thursday, January 26, at 7 PM.
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