By Michael Wax
The Lightning's best players came to play, they saw a few notable milestones, and they hung six goals on their opponent for the second game in a row as they beat the Arizona Coyotes 6-3. Here's how they stacked up:
Stamkos-Point-Kucherov
Hagel-Cirelli-Paul
Sheary-Motte-Eyssimont
Chaffee-Glendening-Merelä
Hedman-Raddysh
de Haan-Perbix
Lilleberg-Crozier
Vasilevskiy in goal.
Here are our three biggest takeaways:
Franchise Firsts
With Nikita Kucherov grabbing all the headlines for his scoring race with Avs forward Nathan McKinnon, one under-the-radar story over the past few games was Steven Stamkos inching towards 1100 career points. The 33-year-old is still hovering around a point per game this season, and after becoming the first player in Lightning history to reach 1000 points last season, he became the first player in the franchise's history to reach the 1100-point mark in this one.
Stamkos's 1000th point came in a way you wouldn't expect: being the setup man. With the Coyotes turning the puck over in the Lightning offensive zone, Stamkos took a pass from Brayden Point and allowed Koch off to the captains, patented one-timer to give the Lighting a 31 lead and get Stamkos that franchise milestone.
Not to be outdone, Stamkos showed off that trademark one-time blast from the left circle on the power play just a few minutes later to make it 4-1.
Another Journey Begins
It has been a really interesting year for the rookies in the Lightning organization. Between Matt Tomkins (technically a rookie), Waltteri Merelä, Declan Carlile, Jack Thompson, Cole Koepke, Emil Lilleberg, Max Crozier, and Mitchell Chaffee, all of these players have had an opportunity to show why the Lightning organization believes in them. None moreso than Mitchell Chaffee.
The Lightning signed Chaffee to a two-way contract after suffering a season-ending injury very early in the 2022-23 season as a member of the AHL's Iowa Wild. He had been one of the most consistent scorers with the Crunch and impressed enough people during his first callup to earn a second opportunity. Serving as the right winger on the fourth line with Merelä and grizzled vet Luke Glendening, Chaffee made the most of this game.
As Lilleberg sent the puck around for Crozier, Chaffee put himself in front of the net where he had enough room between the triangle of Coyotes around him to get off a shot should the puck come in his area. That's exactly what he did after a Glendening rebound was there for the taking, and Chaffee put it past the blocker of Connor Ingram for his first career goal.
For a guy who's been through so much, getting that first NHL goal was the culmination of all of the sacrifices he made last year to come back from one of the most gruesome injuries we've seen. The Lightning should be getting plenty of reinforcements in the coming days, but Chaffee has shown, in his limited time with the big club, that he deserves an opportunity to demonstrate his full skill set.
Luke and the Youngins'
With Austin Watson being week-to-week with a lower-body injury, the Lightning would have to find a new type of fourth line in this one. We've already talked about Mitchell Chaffee in this article, but looking at his linemates, they also helped facilitate the last Lightning goal in this one.
With about 7 1/2 minutes gone in the third, Chaffee and Merelä went for a dump and chase in the Coyotes' zone. Merelä forced a turnover, one hand on his stick, as he got the puck away, waiting for Luke Glendening in the slot. Glendening made no mistake, firing home his eighth goal of the season, already in coming ever closer to tying his season-high for goals (2014-15; 12).
For a new look fourth line, they played very, very well and limited the Coyotes from any big chances while putting up this goal and remaining diligent on the forecheck throughout the night.
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