Insider: Lightning 2, Capitals 1
Suddenly, things are becoming a bit more interesting for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
With the news of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the current eight seed in the Eastern Conference standings, losing big to Vancouver on Saturday night, it was an opportunity for the Lightning to take another step towards reaching the eighth seed in the east, and they took advantage of the situation, beating the Capitals 2-1 in regulation to move six points out of the last and final playoff spot.
On this night, it was Steven Stamkos who led the way, along with strong goaltending from Mathieu Garon and much better defense that got the job done for the Lightning.
“We want to keep going one game at a time and if we keep playing that way, we’ll reach our goal.” Lightning goaltender Mathieu Garon said. “If you look at the standings, it seems like everyone’s winning, but if we do our part, good things are going to happen.”
The Good: Steven Stamkos, Stamkos once again led the way offensively, scoring his 40th goal of the season in the second period. For Stamkos, he became the first player in franchise history to score 40 goals in three separate seasons. It was a pretty goal as well, as Stamkos basically had a breakaway from center ice on, and beat Capitals goaltender Tomas Vokoun with a nice move. The difference for Stamkos on that play was the speed that he entered the zone.
“It’s nice,” Stamkos said of his 40th goal. “There are milestones you set before the year. Its nice to get a win, especially this time of year when you are battling for that last playoff spot. It was a huge win for us. I thought we played solid defensively and capitalized on our chances. We are inching closer and we have to keep being hungry.”
Teddy Purcell, Teddy Purcell registered an assist, which was his seventh point in seven games. Purcell has played well over the past three weeks, and had another strong game against the Capitals.
The Defensive Effort, The Lightning, after giving up five goals two nights ago, was much better defensively against the Capitals on Saturday night. They held the Capitals to just 24 shots, and one goal.
The Bad: Limited Shots In The Third, With the Lightning clinging to a one goal lead in the third period, they only registered two shots on goal. The Lightning were trying to protect the lead, but at the same time, you would like to see just a bit more offensive opportunities
Up Next: The home stand comes to an end on Tuesday night when the Lightning get a rare visit from the Anaheim Ducks, who are coached by former Washington Head Coach Bruce Boudreau. Start time in that one is 7:30
Tags: Tampa Bay Lightning
