Wednesday, 4 a.m.
While the Tampa Bay Lightning was blowing through the National Hockey League this time a year ago, the St. Louis Blues were learning how to win.
Evidently, they did their homework.
The Blues caught fire, winning the Stanley Cup a year ago while the Bolts fizzled. The lessons are still in evidence judging by Tuesday night's 3-1 victory by St. Louis over the Lightning.
Tampa Bay had just eight shots on goal in the first period, just four in the second and just six in the third.
“We played poorly," said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. "That’s it. We turned the puck over. It creates the other team's momentum.
"You have to get to the inside. Ultimately, that’s what you have to do. I’m not sue we fought hard enough to get there. we’re not giving ourselves any chance to get there."
Anthony Cirelli scored to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy fell to 7-6 on the season. However, in 10 of his 13 games, he's faced 25 or more shots.
The Bolts are in Chicago Thursday night for an 8:30 p.m. start.