Sunday, 4 a.m.
They are so hot, the Toronto Maple Leafs may smell smoke.
They are so hot, the ice beneath them may melt into puddles.
They are so hot, the net in front of them may burst into flame.
Yes, the torrid streak of the Tampa Bay Lightning continued Sunday night with. 4-1 beating of the New York Islanders, a win that pulled them to within four points of the Leafs. The Bolts have now pointed in nine straight games (8-0-1) at a crucial time of year.
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Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy won his 28th game of the year, stopping 28 of 29 shots. Vasilevskiy is 7-0-1 in his last eight.
“He’s been the rock,: said Lightning coach gJon Cooper. “The last 10-12 games, he’s …take tonight. The Islanders came on in the second period and he made some big saves. When the team breaks down in front of you, someone has to be there to clean up the mess.”
Anthony Cirelli scored two goals — one of them an empty netter.Steven Stamkos scored his 30th goal of the year early in the third period to give the Bolts a two-goal lead. Darren Raddysh also scored.
For Stamkos, it was the 545th goal of his career, moving him into 32nd place all-time.
Nikita Kucherov had two assists to increase his point total to 126, second in the league behind Nathan MacKinnon.
The Bolts are home at Amalie Arena against Detroit on Monday night at 7 p.m.