By Jake Ricker
The Tampa Bay Lightning looked to bounce back against the Edmonton Oilers after a tough night in Vancouver. Here is how they stacked up.
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Here are the biggest takeaways from the Lightning's 7-4 win over the Oilers.
Steven Stamkos
Stamkos came into tonight on a 5 game-goalless drought. Tonight, he scored 4 times and helped lead the Lightning to a huge win. He also scored one of those goals on the power play, which was the 200th power-play goal in his career. Stamkos is the first Lightning player to reach the mark and the 20th to do it in NHL history.
This was a great game for the captain. It was not just his offense; his overall play was fast and clean. Stamkos ended the night with 4 goals, 7 shots, and a +3. If Stamkos can take this momentum into the next few games, he might be a player to watch for a hot streak.
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Every night he continues to amaze fans. Despite surrendering 4 goals, Vasilevskiy had 50 saves on 54 shots. Vasy also made countless miraculous saves that kept the Lightning in the game. Tonight was another bounce-back game for Vasy after having a below .900 SV% the last two nights.
With all of the Lightning's defensive issues, Vasilevskiy has to be good to keep this team in contention. Hopefully, the Lightning can help their goaltender out and limit some chances, but it is nice to know the Lightning have the best goalie in the world behind them when things go wrong.
Defense
Despite a lot of positives from this game, the defense continues to be the biggest issue for the Lightning. They surrendered 54 shots on goal, which is the third most in franchise history for a single game. And these were not shots coming from the outside. A lot of them were grade-A scoring chances.
While The Lightning were without Victor Hedman tonight, this has been an issue for the Lightning all season long, and something has got to change in the way they play. You can not give great teams shot after shot, or they will make you pay. A large part of the issue seems to be coming from the system they are running, as there are a lot of plays where guys just look to be out of position. One thing is for sure, though: this is priority number one for the Lightning and the coaching staff.
Final thoughts
It was a good start for the Lightning in the first and then a not-so-great second, even surrendering a shorthanded goal, and then a great third period. The Lightning has been very up and down all year long, and they need to find some consistency, even if that's only scoring 3 goals but limiting some of the chances they give up.
Vasilevskiy looked great and made some big saves, while Stamkos lit the lamp 4 times. Nikita Kucherov is the first NHL player to get 50 points, further proving how much of a magician he really is. The Lightning needs a good stretch of hockey as the Atlantic division continues to be a tight race. This could be a great starting point to kick that stretch off after a big offensive night.
Three Stars
Media's three-stars
1. Vasilevskiy (50 SV)
2. Stamkos (4G)
3. Nugent-Hopkins (1G,2A)
Our three-stars
1. Stamkos (4G)
2. Vasilevskiy (50 SV)
3. Nugent-Hopkins (1G,2A)
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