Sunday, 4 a.m.
Most of the time, a goal beats an assist. Think about it. No matter how nifty the pass is, you don't get points unless someone scores at the end of the play.
Sometimes, however, it is the set up that you remember. Sometimes, it is finding the scorer in the right spot that leads to victory.
Take Saturday , for instance, and the Lightning’s 4-3 victory over San Jose.
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With less than a minute to play, the game tied at 3, the Bolts' broke loose down the ice. Brayden Point took the puck down, then passed across the ice to Brandon Hagel. Hagel then passed back across the ice to Nikita Kucherov, who scored his third goal in three games.
"Some big time players made big time plays," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.
The victory finally moved the Lightning to the proper side of .500 at 5-4. The team got four points out of its three-game road trip, one of Cooper's credos.
"Everyone wants to win every single game," Cooper said, "But I haven’t seen a team go 82-0 yet. You want to make the playoffs? If you can pull out more points than games, you put yourself in a really good position if you can win games at home."
Other Lightning goals came from Victor Hedman, Ross Colton and Alex Killorn.
The Bolts return home to Amalie Arena on Tuesday night to face the Ottawa Senators at 7:10 p.m.