In Tampa, the Lightning snapped a four-game losing streak and defeated the visiting Calgary Flames, 4-3, on Saturday.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 18 saves to get the win.
Andrei Vasilevskiy got the win for the Lightning – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
“It was a good performance from start to finish,” Lightning forward Blake Coleman said. “Since I got here we’ve had a little trouble on special teams, but it was one of the big things that bailed us out tonight.”
The Bolts were without Steve Stamkos who is injured.
“It’s a huge loss when you think about the way he produces for us,” Lightning forward Alex Killorn said. “He is a huge part of this team. He’s also the leader of the team. [It’s only] six weeks, so hopefully we can have him back in time for the playoffs.”
Despite the loss, the Flames are still one point clear for the first wild card in the Western Conference.
Elias Lindholm struck once and had two points for Calgary.
“Overall, we didn’t play 60 good minutes to win a game against one of the best in the League,” Lindholm said. “We had some moments, a couple of minutes here and there, but it wasn’t good enough.”
Tyler Johnson scoed to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead.
“We wanted to keep things a little bit more simple and shoot the puck,” Johnson said. “[Sergachev] shot the puck in front, then it hit my stick and goes in. Sometimes it’s not always the prettiest of plays that are the most effective.”
Ondrej Palat, Yanni Gourde and Killorn also scored for Tampa.
“I just honestly wanted to get the shot through,” Gourde said. “I knew Cedric [Paquette] was driving the net really hard, and he drove both defensemen really low, so it kind of opened up my shot. I was fortunate enough to score a goal from a distance.”
Andrew Mangiapane and Sean Monahan also scored for Calgary.
“They’re a good team, but obviously we gave them too many power plays,” Monahan said. “Their skill guys get the puck like that and they are on the power play, they’re going to start feeling it and getting momentum. We’ve got to learn from that and obviously be better.”
[WATCH: All Flames vs. Lightning highlights]
David Rittich made 29 saves in the loss.
“They won the special teams battle for sure,” Flames coach Geoff Ward said. “They had a couple of power-play goals and we gave up a [shorthanded goal]. That’s not a recipe for success most nights.”
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