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Drouin Scores First Career Goal as Lightning Beat Jets |
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Despite being heavily outshot on Friday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning managed to beat the Winnipeg Jets by a score of 4-2 thanks in large part to a sensational performance from rookie Jonathan Drouin. In only his third career game, Drouin scored his first NHL goal and added an assist. The win moves Tampa’s record to 5-2-1, which puts them squarely in the Atlantic Division’s second spot.
It didn’t take long for the Lightning to get on the board in Winnipeg. Only 4:41 into the first period, Drouin and Steven Stamkos teamed up to score the Lightning’s first goal. The “Dramkos” tandem (Credit: GalacticStone) gave the hockey world a taste of things to come with a beautiful give-and-go rush that resulted in Stamkos’s sixth goal of this young season.
The Stamkos goal was followed by a big push from the home team. In the first period alone, the Jets managed to fire 16 shots on goal. Ben Bishop was equal to the task, as his Bolts nursed that 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
That one goal advantage turned into a two goal margin at the 4:45 mark of the second period when Drouin scored his first career goal. Fed beautifully by Nikita Kucherov, Drouin hammered the puck past Ondrej Pavelec for the score. With that goal in his back pocket, Drouin now has three points in three career games. That’s not a bad start to his big league career.
Some ‘unique’ officiating took hold of the game in that middle frame, resulting in a trade of power play goals. Bryan Little got the Jets on the board at the 5:33 mark with his fourth, and Vladislav Namestnikov answered back for the Bolts at 12:52 with his second.
At that point, it looked as though the game would head into the second intermission with the Bolts up 3-1. That was until Ondrej Palat scored a dagger at 18:02. His third of the year was a tough one for the Jets to give up, seeing as they outshot the Bolts 14-6 in that second period. Bishop did his part, and the skaters in front of him rode a .500 shooting percentage straight to that 4-1 lead.
While they tried valiantly, the Jets weren’t able to mount a full comeback. Blake Wheeler scored midway through the third to make it 4-2, but it wasn’t enough to get them back in the game. Outshot and outplayed for large stretches of the contest, the Lightning somehow managed to walk away with victory. It wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t need to be. The two points count just the same.
It’s worth noting that the win came with a cost. Already without Ryan Callahan, Alex Killorn, and Victor Hedman, the Bolts lost J.T. Brown and Brett Connolly to injuries on Friday. Given that neither is expected to be ready for Saturday’s contest against the Minnesota Wild, many are predicting that the team will recall someone from Syracuse… again.
Until tomorrow, thanks for reading.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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