Tuesday, 4 a.m.
They are a team of stars, prone to bursts of brilliance. Perhaps that is why they can be so maddening.
On the other hand, there are nights such as Monday, when the Tampa Bay Lightning hints that maybe, just maybe, they can do some damage in the upcoming playoffs.
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The Bolts’ headline players were a highlight reel in a 5-1 victory over the fading New York Rangers. It was the team’s 45th win of thes season, placing them second in the NHL’s Atlantic Division.
Along the way:
— Forward Nikita Kucherov had another three-point night (a goal and two assists) to tie Nathan McKinnon for the league lead in points. Kucherov, who won the scoring title a year ago, has 81 assists, his third 80-assist season. He has 34 goals.
— Forward Brayden Point had two goals, lifting him to 41 for the season. Point has had four 40-goal seasons, the second most (behind Steven Stamkos) in franchise history.
— Brandon Hagel scored an empty-net goal for his 35th of the season.
— Yanni Gourde scored his first goal for the Bolts since his return at the trade deadline.
— Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 39 of 40 shots to win his 37th game of the year.
— The team’s power play, which had been in a slump, scored three times.
“I looked up and it was 11-1 (shots in favor of the Rangers),” said Bolts’ coach Jon Cooper. “Then it was 11-5, and we had a three-goal lead.”
The Bolts’ offensive outburst came despite being outshot 40-23.
Part of that was the resurgence of the power play, which had scored just once in five games.
The Bolts trail Toronto by two points in the division. The teams play Wednesday night at Amalie Arena at 7 p.m.