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Quick Strikes: Tampa Bay Lightning win 10 straight for the first time ever

Hard to believe it took so long, but here we are.

The Bolts

The 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning became the first team in franchise history to win 10 straight games. Nikita Kucherov scored yet another three-point night in the win over half the team’s former squad: the New York Rangers. [Raw Charge]

This wasn’t a good game for the Lightning. They ran the Rangers out of the building in the first period and then couldn’t get much going the rest of the game. They’re lucky to leave with two points.

Despite that, the two points count just the same as any other. And they’re important because tomorrow, the team heads to Boston to face a good team. And on the second half of a back to back, even securing one point would be a success so securing both points tonight relieves some of the pressure for tomorrow.

Can someone who is good at stats tell me if this is good?

Has anyone asked Nikita Kucherov if he’s human or not? At this point, if the question hasn’t been asked, that’s on us.

Here’s what the 10th win in a row meant to the team. [Tampa Bay Times]

“We’re very happy in putting those wins together,” Girardi said about the 10-game winning streak, “but it’s no secret we needed to be better in the second and third. We have 18 more games to figure that out. If we played like we did in the first 60 (games), we’d be fine.”

Tyler Johnson scored his 300th point in the NHL. For a player with his history and story, 300 points is the definition if defying the odds. An incredible story.

Andrei Vasilevskiy is a very good goaltender, but he does one thing better than pretty much anyone else in his profession: shutouts. [Raw Charge]

When it comes to stopping the other team in the shootout, the Lightning are, as in so many areas, fortunate enough to have the league’s best in Andrei Vasilevskiy. As a Lightning fan watching the games, you’re probably aware that Vasy is outstanding in the shootout. But just how much so? Individual shootout stats aren’t widely publicized; the only time you see them on a TV graphic is when a shooter is about to take a shot but you seldom see the goalie’s numbers.

And if you’ll bear with me, one final story thread on Jon Cooper, and how he affected the life of this young person in sports. I highly encourage you to read it.

The Prospects

The Syracuse Crunch beat the Binghamton Devils 4-0 in some Wednesday night action. Eddie Pasquale started the game, but was forced to leave early due to an illness. Connor Ingram stepped in and completed the shutout and gave his partner the win. [Raw Charge]

The Crunch are in the middle of a grueling stretch of eight games in fourteen days. Originally, Syracuse was supposed to be enjoying a nice five-day break before their three-games-in-three-days stretch this weekend, but this game was thrown in after the scheduled one was postponed due to a snowstorm on January 19th. Given that, it was nice to see the Crunch go out and beat Binghamton in a workmanlike fashion.

Carter Verhaeghe scored in the game, meaning he hit 60 points on the season. Jonathan Marchessault’s record isn’t far.

The Crunch are reaching out to the public to help them determine their All-Time rosters. It’s a historic franchise with some incredible names and stories.

The Solar Bears also won by a four-goal margin! I think that’s what they call a Franchise Clean Sweep night!

This is a weird one. Burger King asked the hockey world if any pro goalie was willing to wear their weird helmet. The Crunch responded with the most on brand and loyal response you can imagine.

And on one final weird note, we have Connor Ingram speaking to us through Facebook! A retro treat, I must say.

The Game

We continue — and hopefully conclude — the Burger King story, we have Mike McKenna being an absolute gentleman. He really lives the best life, right?

Seth Jones wrote a thing for the Players’ Tribune about his mother. It’s super cute and sweet, but little did he know that TPT asked her to be a special guest editor! Her notes interspersed throughout the article are super adorable and hilarious. [The Players’ Tribune]

Special Guest Editor, Amy Jones

Oh my gosh!!!!!!! Seth! O.K., see, this is the problem. I can’t deny the J-Lo thing. That was definitely on the mixtape. I loved that song. But we had all kinds of music on there. Rod Stewart was definitely on there. DMX, 50 Cent. That Eminem song was on there, and that was when things got really serious in the car. You know that one? “You better lose yourself in the music, the moment, you own it!” (I’m rapping now.) “Mom’s spaghetti!” That one.

Emily Kaplan of ESPN and other fame visited the Black Girl Hockey Club, along with special guest PK Subban! [The Undefeated]

“We’ve had experiences beyond what I could have even dreamed of when I started this,” said Renee Hess. “But the best part of it is being able to do it together.” Hess, 39, is from Riverside, California. She’s an associate professor of English at La Sierra University and a freelance writer. She’s also a hockey fan, and she’s avid about her favorite sport on Twitter.

The LeBreton Flats deal for the Ottawa Senators looks like it’s deal before it was even given a chance to begin. Someone take the keys of this franchise away from Eugene Melnyk, please. [The Ottawa Citizen]

The failure, which completes one of the gloomiest weeks in the history of the Ottawa Senators, is hardly surprising. In the fall, the partnership between team owner Eugene Melnyk and Trinity Development Group chairman John Ruddy erupted in dramatic fashion with the launching of $1.7 billion in damage claims in harshly-worded lawsuits.

Highlight of the Night: This slick passing play from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Auston Matthews, to Kasperi Kapanen, to Andreas Johnsson.

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