The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-4 at Amalie Arena in Tampa Tuesday night.
It’s a good thing style points aren’t a thing and that sloppy games are fun to watch (at least when your team wins them) because of games like this one. But hey, a win is a win and two points is two points and a winning streak of six straight is still a winning streak, right?
“I think the start wasn’t very good. I think we played a really good second period and the third period, again we gave up too many odd-man rushes. A couple of 2-on-1’s and that can’t happen.” – Ondrej Palat
The Lightning started the trading of goals at 3:57 of the first when Alex Killorn executed a pretty spin move that lost his defender, enabling him to pass to Nikita Nesterov who put it home. Andrej Sustr contributed the secondary assist.
Edmonton tied the game at 5:25 when a Tampa Bay giveaway put the puck on Iiro Pakarinen’s stick. Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped his shot but Zack Kassian slammed home the rebound.
It was the Lightning’s turn at 16:57 with Nikita Kucherov scoring on assists from Tyler Johnson and Alex Killorn
The Oilers cashed in again at 19:26, getting a shorthanded goal from Mark Letestu on an assist from Darnell Nurse to end the first period with the teams tied at two.
The Lightning regained the lead at 6:09 of the second, with Palat scoring with help from Vladislav Namestnikov and Steven Stamkos.
They extended their lead at 17:12 when Namestnikov spiked a high, errant puck from behind the net. It was briefly reviewed for a possible high stick violation but was upheld. Palat and Stamkos added helpers.
The period ended with the Lightning up 4-2.
The Oilers sliced that lead in half at 2:10 on a goal by Leon Draisaitl with assists credited to Taylor Hall and Kassian.
They eliminated that lead at 4:29 when Pakarinen scored unassisted.
How did this happen? Well, the Lightning having six giveaways through the first two periods and another six in the third alone was certainly a factor.
Fortunately, they took the lead again on a shorthanded goal of their own at 7:42 when Brian Boyle caught Oilers goalie Anders Nilsson way out of his net and scored what would be the eventual game-winner with assists going to Braydon Coburn and J.T. Brown.
“Great block. Brownie sells out, blocks a shot and it starts right there. Cobey has a lot of poise; I saw he had full control so I kind of took off. He threw it a little higher than I thought he did, but I saw it land and it kind of stopped right where it landed. That’s a great bounce for us. The goalie wanted to come out and play it and I put it in a tough spot.” – Boyle
Killorn added an empty netter at 19:33 with Kucherov adding an assist on the play.
The homestand continues Thursday when the Lightning host the Chicago Blackhawks.
Game notes:
- This is the last of two meetings this season between Tampa Bay and Edmonton, with the Lightning taking both games.
- The Lightning are now 8-2-1 in their last 11 games.
- They’re 17-1-0 when leading after two periods, in spite of blowing leads in two of their last three games.
- The Lightning are 8-3-0 against teams from the Pacific Division this season.
- The last time the Lightning won six straight games was last season between October 28 and November 19, 2014.
- Boyle returned to the lineup after missing Sunday’s game against Florida.
- Kucherov has a six game point streak, with five goals and four assists.
- The Lightning honored Dr. Mike and Chris Higgins as the 23rd Lightning Community Heroes of the 2015-16 season during the first period of tonight’s game. Dr. Mike and Chris Higgins, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, will donate the money to the Hope Children’s Home. For more than a decade, Mike and Chris Higgins have become a guiding light to more than 400 children in need around the Tampa Bay area. The Higgins’ took over the Hope Children’s Home, becoming loving care givers to countless children. They act in a parental role for at-risk youth, providing them with a structured home life where they feel loved and valued. Going above and beyond was not enough for the Higgins’, expanding their family services, they created the Cottages of Hope Project. The facility is built on a campus which includes a school, parks and dormitories, creating a safe environment for youth. The cottages allow sibling groups to stay together, providing them with a more stable, nurturing family setting. Through the Higgins’ love and dedication, they have created a system that has broken the cycle of poverty, drug abuse and high school drop outs. Roughly 90% of the children that are in Mike and Chris’ care are attending college. The Higgins become the 202nd Lightning Community Heroes since Jeff and Penny Vinik introduced the program in 2011-12 with a $10 million, five-season commitment to the Tampa Bay community. Through this evening’s game, in total, the Lightning Foundation has granted $10.25 million to more than 300 different non-profits in the Greater Tampa Bay area.
