Thanks in large part to two third period goals from Alex Killorn, the Tampa Bay Lightning were able to beat the Vancouver Canucks by a score of 4-1 in what was their last game before the all-star break. The win was Tampa’s eighth straight at Amalie Arena, which ties the team’s single season record.
Because the game was littered with so many penalties, it was difficult to gauge momentum as the contest moved along. What the underlying numbers show, however, is that Tampa was generally solid when the game was being played at even strength. This chart from HockeyStats.ca exemplifies that:
While they did fail to dominate a tired Vancouver team, the Bolts did do enough to win. Heading into a multiday break, that’s more than good enough. The victory puts Tampa in the top spot in the Eastern Conference, and pushes them that much closer to a playoff berth:
It’s been a great start to the 2014-15 campaign.
Specific to tonight’s game, the Bolts and Canucks battled their way through an uneventful and scoreless first period. Both Ryan Miller and Ben Bishop made the saves they needed to make, while the folks at home likely enjoyed a quick nap.
The game’s first goal wasn’t scored until 13:32 of the second period when Valtteri Filppula was able to beat Miller with a slick tip. Ryan Callahan and Steven Stamkos teamed up to feed Filppula, who was able to get behind the Vancouver defense and cruise to the net for the score. His ninth of the season gave the team the boost it needed to get things going.
Being down by one with roughly 26 minutes left on the clock isn’t the worst situation to be in, but it certainly wasn’t a good situation for a Vancouver team that was playing its fourth game in six nights at the end of a five-game road trip. Fatigue was bound to set in. And it did.
Alex Killorn scored what would eventually become the game winning goal just 11 seconds into the third period. After Victor Hedman did some great work to keep the puck in at the line, Killorn skated his way into the slot and wired a great wrist shot past Miller to give the Bolts a 2-0 lead. That was a backbreaker for a Vancouver club that has struggled to score goals over the last few weeks.
About four minutes later, Brian Boyle extended the Lightning lead to 3-0 with his ninth of the year. On a night when their line was buzzing on nearly every shift, Boyle, Brett Connolly, and Brenden Morrow teamed up for a great goal. It was nice to see them get rewarded. "The Triplets" line may not be the only line with a nickname for much longer:
To that point in the hockey game, everything was going Tampa’s way. That changed briefly at 8:09 of the third when Frank Corrado scored his first goal of the season. Corrado has bounced between the American Hockey League and NHL this year, and has struggled to crack Vancouver’s lineup when he’s been up. For whatever reason, Willie Desjardins has been reluctant to play him over players like Ryan Stanton and Luca Sbisa. Perhaps a strong push to the net that resulted in a key goal will be enough to change that.
Or, alternatively, perhaps a Kevin Bieksa injury will be enough to keep Corrado in the lineup. Bieksa, who has struggled mightily all year long, took a hard Victor Hedman shot right off his hand. He went off immediately with what looked to be a fairly serious injury. Even so, certain Vancouver fans didn’t look at the injury as a negative for their team:
In all seriousness, hopefully Bieksa recovers fully and quickly.
Unwilling to go down without a fight, Willie D went all Patty R and pulled his goalie with about five minutes left on the clock. Down by two goals, he needed a miracle. He didn’t get one. Given that his team went 0-for-7 on the power play in the game, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Canucks failed to notch two tallies with the goalie pulled. That 0-for-7 mark includes failed attempts on two (!) 5-on-3 advantages.
Like it’s been on so many occasions this year, Vancouver’s power play was as bad as its penalty kill was good. The Lightning, on the other hand, went 0-for-5 with the man advantage, but got the even strength goals they needed to win the game. Alex Killorn popped the puck into the empty net to secure the team’s 4-1 victory. That was it.
With a few days now to rest up and heal some bumps and bruises, the Bolts are in a very nice spot. The view from the top of the Eastern Conference is a nice one. The key for Tampa now is to do everything needed to stay right there until the playoffs begin in April.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter. 
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