Friday, 4 .m.
Could this be it? Could the the first signs of a turnaround for the Tampa Bay Lightning?
Oh, we have seen them win back-to-back games this season. Heck, in early November, we saw them win three in a row.
But the Lightning's back-to-back wins over the Florida Panthers and the Boston Bruins felt a little different, didn't it? For one thing, they gave up only three goals combined in the two games.
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For another, captain Steven Stamos is suddenly on fire.
Stamkos scored two more goals against the Bruins in a. 3-2 win Thursday night, giving him six over the Lightning's last four games. That, plus a goal by Brayden Point, was enough to lift the Bolts their win.
For the night, Tampa Bay had two power play goals. Their power play didn't give up any. Tampa Bay trailed 1-0 after a period, but rallied for a 3-1 lead.
"It was tough." Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "I felt like we really controlled a lot of that first period. Our guys just grinded and stuck with it. The bruins are such a deep team.
"But special teams are key. You have to try to win that special teams' war. For Stemmer to get that power play goal right out the gate was huge for us. A couple of power play goals and not to give any up. That’s what we have to do if you want to compete with of the big boys in the East.’’
The Bolts were energized early when Pat Maroon took on Boston's gigantic Zeno Chara in a first-period fight.
"It obviously spazrked us.," Stamkos said/. "There’s not many guys who want to step up to Big Z. That was great of Patty and gave us some lift."
Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves for the Lightning.
Tampa Bay is home Saturday night against Washington
