Friday, 4 a.m.
For the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team that can use a little good news, there is this: The Bolts came from behind three times Thursday night.
On the other hand, they fell from ahead four times.
The Lightning's recent slump continued to spiral downward Thursday night in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Yes, they played better than they have lately -- they've won only two of their last eight -- but they didn't play good enough to win.
And so the swoon continues.
Content beyond this point is for members only.
Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo). Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.
The Bolts have lost four of their last five games, and in the four losses, they've given up 22 goals/ In their last five, they've given up 212 shots.
“We played well enough to win the game," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "It’s a game of mistakes, and every team makes mistakes. The ones we made tonight all ended up in the back if the net. There were some poor decisions made. It happensin games. Sometimes it does’t end up the back of the net,"
The Bolts continued to have their defensive lapses, giving up two goals to Jeff Petrie in 45 seconds. Jason Zucker also scored twice, his second one in overtime.
For the Bolts, Brayden Point scored for the sixth straight game. He now has 38 on the season.
Also scoring with Ross Colton, Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy had 27 saves.
Vasilevskiy (and the defense) have been hot and cold lately. In the Bolts' last 11 Ames, Vasi has two shutouts and two goal games. But in his other seven, he's given up 28 goals.
The Bolts play at Buffalo on Saturday afternoon at 12:30.