Three games are in the books and the Tampa Bay Lightning lead the Eastern Conference Finals 2 games to 1 over the Rangers. Three games and a total of 20 goals have been by both teams combined, with the Lightning g outscoring New York by almost a 2-to-1 margin (13 goals for the Bolts, 9 for the Rangers) [Author note: originally posted 13-7 goal differential, differential is 13-9].
The integral part of that onslaught has been the TKO Trio; the Lightning’s second line of Ondrej Palat-Tyler Johnson-Nikita Kucherov. Since game 1 of the ECFs on Saturday, members of the trio have generated a total of 16 points (8 goals, 8 assists), with 7 points coming during game 3’s 6-5 victory.
While center Tyler Johnson’s game 2 effort (his mad-hatter hat trick; scoring even-strength, short-handed and on the power play) has drawn the most attention in the media toward the TKO line, Ondrej Palat hasn’t exactly been someone to ignore offensively; Palat has scored 3 goals of his own since game 1. Kucherov’s weight had been mostly felt in the assist category during the series up until sudden-death overtime in game 3.
TKO has 41 total points in the 2015 NHL playoffs, with Johnson leading the team in goals with 12 while Kucherov is tied for the team lead in assists with 9. TJohnny leads the team with 18 points while Kuch is second on the club with 16 while Palat is 5th on the club with 13.
