Kucherov wasn't pleased with Tkachuk's hit./TIM WIRT
Friday, 4 a.m.
This one, you would have to score as a knockout.
The sizzling Tampa Bay Lightning put it to the Florida Panthers, 6-1, in a fight-filled game. The NHL will now take a break for the Olympics.
The Lightning-Panthers game has turned into a rambling fisticuff exhibition. The Bolts had 81 minutes worth of penalties -- and gave up eight power plays, including a five-minute major in the third period. The Panthers had 61 minutes worth of penalties and gave up two power plays.
Hagel was willing to drop the gloves./TIM WIRT
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 33 of 34 shots to win his 27th of the year (seven losses).
The Bolts scored on goals by Brandon Hagel (his 27th), Zemgus Girgensons, Jake Guentzel (his 26th), Erik Cernak (his first), Pontus Holmberg and Oliver Bjorkstrand.
Going into the break, the Bolts are 37-14-4. The lead the Atlantic Division with 78 points. six ahead of Montreal and Detroit.
It has been a marked turnaround. The Bolts were 18-13-3 in their first 34 games. They're 19-1-1 in their last 21 games.
They will return to Benchmark for a game on February 25 against Toronto at 7:30 p.m.
The game before, the improbability of the comeback was because of the score.
This time, it was because of the clock.
Say this for the Bolts. They can take a punch. Once again, the Lightning came from behind to win an unlikely game. This time, it was a 4-3 win over Buffalo in overtime at Benchmark International Arena.
The previous game, the Bolts fell behind 5-1 before rallying to win. They have now won 18 of their last 20 games.
Raddysh sent the game to overtime./TIM WIRT
The Bolts looked as if they were headed for defeat -- again -- trailing 3-2 with 26 seconds to play. Darren Raddysh forced the overtime with a long, scalding shot.
In the extra period, Jake Guentzel scored the winner with 15 seconds left. Guentzel had scored the winning goal in a shootout in Sunday night's 6-5 comeback win over Boston, a game in which the Bolts trailed by four goals.
Guentzel's goal came on a pass from Nikita Kucherov, his fourth point (one goal and three assists) of the game. Kucherov has eight points in his last two games.
Oliver Bjorkstrand also scored for Tampa Bay.
Mattias Samuelsson scored two goals and Josh Doan one for the Sabres.
The Bolts are back on the ice at Benchmark International on Thursday at 7:30 pm. to face the Florida Panthers.
Turns out, the Tampa Bay Lightning enjoys the evening air.
The Lightning stormed back from four goals behind to win a 6-5 game over Boston in an outdoor game held at Raymond James Stadium.
The Bolts fell behind 5-1 midway through the second period, but slowly came surging back to force it into overtime on Nikita Kucherov's 28nd goal of the year. The four-goal deficit was the largest the Lightning has overcome in franchise history.
Jake Guentzel scored the only shootout goal of the period for the winning goal.
Kucherov had four points, the goal and three assists. Also scoring were Brandon Hagel (11 seconds in, the fastest outdoors goal in history), Oliver Bjorkstrand, Darren Raddysh and Nick Paul. Bjorkstrand, Raddysh and Paul all scored on the power play.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves and was involved in a fight.
The Bolts are home against Buffalo Tuesday night at Benchmark International Arena.
Raddysh has picked up the slack for Bolts./TIM WIRT
Friday, 4 a.m.
In a season that could have been derailed because of defensive injuries, Darren Raddysh has kept the Tampa Bay Lightning on the straight and narrow.
Raddysh was excellent again in a 4-1 win over Winnipeg Wednesday night at Benchmark International Arena. Raddysh scored a goal and had two assists in the victory.
The Bolts have lost just two games -- one in a shootout -- in their last 17 since Dec. 18.
The Bolts have played most of those games without Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonaugh and Erik Chernak. Raddysh has filled in with 15 goals and 32 assists.
Dominick James scored his fifth goal and Yanni Gourde scored his seventh. Nikita Kuchereov scored his 27th on an empty netter.
Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 22 of 23 shots for his 24th victory.
Tampa Bay plays the Boston Bruins in the Stadium Series Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at Raymond James Stadium.
Tuesday, 4 a.m. There are nights when he makes the goal mouth look like a mouse hole, when no light, no air, and in particular no pucks can get past him. On such nights, you might as well dig a moat around the crease and line it with guard dogs. On those nights, Andrei Vasilevskiy […]
Sunday, 4 a.m. Perhaps the odds said that a game like this was waiting. A game where the defense didn’t show up, where too many passes didn’t connect. A game where a two-goal comeback was wasted. The hot streak of the Tampa Bay Lightning — a 15-game point streak — blew up in the faces […]
Saturday, 4 a.m. The amazing streak of the Tampa Bay Lightning just gets better. And the stars? They keep coming from everywhere. Dominic James? Gage Goncalves? Take your bows, guys. The Lightning ran its record to 14-0-1 in its last 15 games Friday night, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 in a shootout at the United […]
Wednesday, 4 a.m. He is a man of his team. When Andrei Vasilevskiy was struggling, well, so was the Tampa Bay Lightning. Vasilevskiy lost his first five games of the year (two in overtime), and the Bolts struggled. Lately, however, he has won 10 of his last 11 games, and his team has been just […]
Monday, 4 a.m. Could this be the start of another streak? From the way the Tampa Bay Lightning looked Sunday afternoon, it’s a possibility. The Bolts looked sharp in a 4-1 victory over a slumping Stars’ team Sunday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Bolts, who had an 11-game winning streak snapped against […]
Saturday, 4 a.m. Finally, another goaltender was hotter than the Tampa Bay Lightning. Finally, a game didn’t end in victory for the Bolts. Finally, the offense grew cold at the wrong time. The streak is over. After winning 11 games in a row, the Tampa Bay Lightning has lost. The Bolts, one win short of […]
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About Gary Shelton
• No one covers Tampa Bay like Gary Shelton.
• No one has seen as many moments, as many athletes, as many coaches as he has over the last quarter of a century.
• No one has won more awards, including two national Associated Press Sports Editors Best Columnist awards and eight top 10 finishes. He also just received his sixth Sportswriter of the Year award for Florida by the NSSA.
• No one has seen more big events, including 29 Super Bowls, 10 Olympics and 11 Final Fours. Gary still goes into the locker rooms to obtain his stories.
• No one has made you angrier, or laugh louder, or think harder about what he has written.
Now, he begins a website designed to keep him in touch with the readers who have grown up on his words.
