Wednesday, 4 a.m.
He was a waterbed, dashing and darting, zigging and zagging, embarrassing the Seattle players who watched him flash past.
He was a spark from the fireplace, flashing and flying, skittering through the maze in front of him.
He was Brayden Point, and this was the goal you will remember him by.
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It was in the second period of the Lightning's 6-2 victory over Seattle when Point took a pass from Nikita Kucherov, and slalomed his way through the Seattle defense, tucking the puck into the net to highlight Tampa Bay’s 11th win in its last 14 games.
"Unbelievable," said Victor Hedman of Point's goal. "There were a couple of slick moves. I don’t think people understand how hard a shot that was, either, with the backhand. It was beautiful."
Of course, The Bolts have seen Point's breakneck speed before. He's scored 172 goals. But this was highlight reel stuff.
“He’s an elite player and he can do elite things," said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. "You watched him doing an elite thing. He’s a hell of a player. Only a few guys in the league can do things like that and he's one of them."
Said teammate Haydn Fleury: "Pretty special moves. Special goal. Special player.”
Point wasn't the only star for the Bolts in one of their best wins of the year.
-- Andrei Vasilevskiy won his eighth game in his last 11, stopping 36 of 38 goals.
-- Steven Stamkos scored the 497th goal of his career.
-- Nikita Klucherov had three assists.
-- The defense pitched in with six points, including goals from Ian Cole and Erik Cernak (his first of the year).
Also scoring were Corey Perry and Ross Colton.
The Bolts are now 4-1 on this six-game homestand.
Tampa Bay closes out its homestand on Thursday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m.
