The one thing that we all wanted to see tonight happened. Nikita Kucherov had a heck of a night as he was buzzing around the offensive zone for the first period-and-a-half. Eventually, one of his teammates, Brayden Point, turned a pass into a goal to give Kucherov the magical number of 100 assists. It was part of a two-point night for Kucherov (his 41st multi-point game of the season) as the Tampa Bay Lightning closed out the 2023-24 regular season with a 6-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It was a bit of a depleted line-up for the home team as Anthony Cirelli, Tyler Motte, Luke Glendening, and Victor Hedman missed the game. Matt Tomkins got the call in net as the Lightning went with the seldom-seen 11-forward, 6-defensemen line-up. They were facing a tired Leafs team that had played in Sunrise the night before and had Martin Jones in net. Toronto didn’t seem entirely focused on winning the game, rather their main goal was to get Auston Matthews his 70th goal of the season.
Despite 21 minutes of ice time, 16 shot attempts, 9 scoring chances, and 11 (!) shots on goal, history would elude Matthews as he failed to find the back of the net. He had several good looks at the net, including a back-door opportunity with Tomkins well out of position, but Emil Lilleberg was able to get his skate on the attempt. Matthews would also find the crossbar after he wrong-footed Matt Dumba on a one-on-one rush.
The Lightning, whether it was the fact that they were playing the Leafs, or because of their captain’s words following the loss to Buffalo. When asked what he wanted to see in the last game he replied with,
“Just do your job. Do the details of the game that we ask for, that we practice, that we execute, because that what it boils down to.”
Lost in the excitement of Kucherov’s achievement and Steven Stamkos reaching 40 goals/40 assists for the fifth time in his career was Austin Watson diving along the boards to clear a puck shorthanded while the Lightning were up 5-1 and Mitchell Chaffee with a hard forecheck to set up Tanner Jeannot’s goal to make it 6-1. They blocked 17 shots on the night, went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, and threw 38 hits on the night.
They might have lost a little focus late in the third as they allowed three goals over the six minutes of the game, but if there was ever a time to take the foot off the gas, it was in the third period of Game 82 with a five-goal lead. They built the lead with goals from Nick Paul and Kucherov in the first period. Then added to it with Anthony Duclair scoring his 8th goal in 17 games with the Lightning off of a nice no-look, backhand pass from Nick Paul.
Point’s power play goal was quickly followed (52 seconds later) by Brandon Hagel beating Jones quickly on a breakaway leaving Matthews’ chase for 70 as the only real thing to be decided over the final 20 minutes. In the final period, the soon-to-be Rocket Richard winner played 7:09 and was on the ice for two of the Leafs three goals. There was a brief moment on T.J. Brodie’s goal from the point that it looked like the Arizona native might have tipped it as he waved his stick at the puck. Replays showed that he did not make contact and his parents, who were in the crowd, sat back in disappointment. His best chance in the final frame was a shot from the slot that Tomkins shrugged off with confidence.
There were some encouraging signs in the Lightning’s win as their sites now turn to the Florida Panthers and their series that starts on Sunday afternoon.
[Game Center] [Natural Stat Trick] [The Lines] [Event Summary]
The Goals
Nick Paul [24] (Anthony Duclair, Matt Dumba) 1-0 Tampa Bay
Nikita Kucherov [43] (Brandon Hagel, Steven Stamkos) 2-0 Tampa Bay
Ryan Reaves [4] (David Kampf, Connor Dewar) 2-1 Tampa Bay
Anthony Duclair [24] (Nick Paul, Steven Stamkos) 3-1 Tampa Bay
Brayden Point (Nikita Kucherov [100]. Darren Raddysh) Power Play, 4-1 Tampa Bay
Brandon Hagel [26] (Calvin de Haan) 5-1 Tampa Bay
Tanner Jeannot [7] (Mikey Eyssimont, Mitchell Chaffee) 6-1 Tampa Bay
T.J. Brodie [1] (Connor Dewar, David Kampf) 6-2 Tampa Bay
Pontus Holmberg [7] (Nate Robertson) 6-3 Tampa Bay
John Tavares [29] 6-4 Tampa Bay
