Kucherov scores twice as Lightning rebound

by Gary Shelton on March 19, 2018 · 0 comments

in general, Tampa Bay Lightning

Kucherov scored two goals to lead the Lightning./CARMEN MANDATO

Kucherov scored two goals to lead the Lightning./CARMEN MANDATO

Monday, 4 a.m.

The night before, the penalty kill was murder.

This time, it was lethal.

Hedan scored his 12th goal of the year./CARMEN MANDATO

Hedman scored his 12th goal of the year./CARMEN MANDATO

The penalty kill unit of the Lightning stopped the Edmonton Oilers on five power plays Sunday in a 3-1 victory. The win snapped a two game skid by the Tampa Bay Lightning ad improved their record to 49-19-4.

Tampa Bay surrendered a goal to Edmonton's  Ty Rattie only 14 seconds into the game, but goalie Louis Domingue stopped 29 shots to improve his record to 6-3 with Tampa Bay.

Domingue makes a save for Tampa Bay./CARMEN MANDATO

Domingue makes a save for Tampa Bay./CARMEN MANDATO

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Killorn's shot on net just slides past the post./CARMEN MANDATO

Killorn's shot on net just slides past the post./CARMEN MANDATO

“The first couple was just outstanding work by the guys in front of the goaltender, and the end or the last couple I guess, I don’t know how many straight minutes they had, but Louis was the difference in the end," said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. "He made those big saves. I think McDonagh stopped one and guys were just sacrificing their bodies. That was probably the difference in the game tonight.”

Stamkos had two assists on the night./CARMEN MANDATO

Stamkos had two assists on the night./CARMEN MANDATO

The early goal allowed didn't deter the Bolts.

“Honestly, we treated it as, if you had a microphone on the bench after that one went in, it was pretty comical some of the comments that were going on." Cooper said. "The big joke was we felt we had a lot of time to come back. Our team’s one thing, but how about the goaltender who gets a tough break there and lets that one in and then comes in and doesn’t give one up for the rest of the night. Says a lot about the mental makeup, and I thought our guys played really well in front of him aside from the little bit of a barrage we had in the penalty kill at the end. The guys did a good job.”

Callahan fights for the puck for Bolts./CARMEN MANDATO

Callahan fights for the puck for Bolts./CARMEN MANDATO

Forward Brayden Point agreed the difference was the penalty kill. Once again, it proves that even a good team has to do the little things well.

"We had the guys blocking shots," Point said. "Look at McDonagh he blocked I don’t know how many but some real bombs he blocked getting in front of and that’s just a huge sacrifice from our guys that are willing to do that. I think we were just really committed to pay the price.”

Said Domingue: "That was the reason probably that we won tonight. We were sacrificing our bodies. I’ve seen our D-men were just blocking shots like a goalie tonight. It made a huge difference at a crucial time in the game.”

Domingue overcame the early goal he allowed.

McDonagh moves the puck from behind the net./CARMEN MANDATO

McDonagh moves the puck from behind the net./CARMEN MANDATO

“I came in ready," Domingue said. "I was feeling good. There’s days when you don’t feel good, you give up a goal like that and it’s going to be harder. But for me, I wash it away right away. It’s one of those things guys are coming in tapping on your pads. It’s just a bad break. You can’t do anything about it, you’re just trying to build after one save at a time and get yourself back in the game.”

Tyler Johnson fights for positioning./CARMEN MANDATO

Tyler Johnson fights for positioning./CARMEN MANDATO

Nikita Kucherov scored two goals for the Bolts and Victor Hedman one. Kucherov now has 36 goals on the season, good for eighth in the NHL Steven Stamkos had two assists.

“You can see what type of an impact it can have on a game," Stamkos said. "It went the other way against Boston, and tonight we won the special teams battle and we get a much deserved win. PK is something that after last game, it’s not for lack of effort. We’ve had a couple bad bounces today. We did a lot of things right including Louis in net. It starts with him and our defense, especially (McDonagh) blocking a ton of shots and the forwards being in the right lanes and battling to get back to take crossing passes away. When we had pressure up ice we hemmed them in. It was great to see and hope it’s a confidence booster.”

The Lightning conclude their eight-game homestand with a Tuesday night game against Toronto. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.

Erne maintains possession for the Bolts./CARMEN MANDATO

Erne maintains possession for the Bolts./CARMEN MANDATO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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