TAMPA, Fla – Vinny Lecavalier’s goal at 1:13 of overtime lifted the Tampa Bay Lightning to another win against the Thrashers. It stretched the Bolts win streak over Atlanta to nine games, the longest active win streak by one team over another in the NHL. Tampa also stretched their point streak to eight games.
It was the second goal of the game for the captain as for the second straight game the Bolts survived a late third period goal against.
“We’ve been playing some pretty good hockey lately, but tonight, after two days off, we played very smart,” Lecavalier said on the Lightning website. “It was a huge win for us, but we’ve got to keep pushing and hopefully keep this going.”
The Lightning have three tough home games this week ahead before heading out on the road to Washington and Pittsburgh.
It was another strong performance for Dan Ellis in goal as he stopped 26 Atlanta shots. Many at close range in the last ten minutes of regulation but Ellis, 3-0-1 in his last four, frustrated the Thrashers, until Freddy Modin tied the game with 3:43 remaining in regulation.
Steven Stamkos opened the scoring with his 28th of the season at 8:14 of the first period. The win allowed the Lightning to keep pace with Washington, winners in Raleigh, and gave Tampa a three point cushion over the Thrashers.
Up next for the Lightning, a home game Tuesday night versus the Bruins. The Bruins handed Tampa their most lopsided loss of the season, 8-1, when the two teams last met in Boston on December 2. Tampa did beat Boston 3-1 in Tampa in November, however even in that win the Lightning seemed to have difficulty handling the Bruins physical play. That physical style also seemed to cause Tampa some difficulty against the Rangers in New York last week.
The “Blueshirts” will be in town on Saturday to close the home stand, with Montreal here on Thursday.
“We’ve been playing well, but we want to score even more and play even better,” Lightning forward Sean Bergenheim said on the Lighting site. “All and all though, it’s been great.”
Tampa will need to continue to play great in the weeks ahead as the NHL season reaches the midway point and begins to heat up. Contact Joe.Malta@prohockeynews.com
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