After what can only be described as a grueling Western Conference road trip, the Tampa Bay Lightning found themselves back in the friendly confines of the Amalie Arena on Tuesday night.
Facing off against the Arizona Coyotes for the first time this season, the Bolts controlled the play, dominated possession, set the pace, and ultimately outscored their opponent. Built on the back of a Nikita Kucherov hat-trick and a four-assist night from Tyler Johnson, the 7-3 win moves Tampa’s record to 6-3-1, good enough for second place in the Atlantic Division.
Against a Coyotes team that has dealt with subpar goaltending since the start of the 2014-15 campaign, the Lightning absolutely needed to possess the puck and generate shot attempts. They did exactly that. The following possession chart, courtesy of HockeyStats.ca, highlights the fact that the Bolts were able to maintain some measure of control even when the score became lopsided.
That ‘score effects’ were such a non-factor is an impressive thing. Give full credit to the Bolts for not taking their foot off the gas.
Nikita Kucherov opened the scoring at the 7:46 mark of the first period when he tipped a Radko Gudas shot past Mike Smith. Kucherov’s second of the year came with the young Russian stationed firmly in front of the net, where he was able to showcase his adept hand-eye coordination.
That one goal advantage became a two goal advantage less than five minutes later, as Valtteri Filppula fired the puck past Smith. Able to locate the puck after a scramble in the slot, Filppula was simply in the right place at the right time for his second of the year; the assists were credited to Alex Killorn and Steven Stamkos.
Down 2-0 after one period of play, the Coyotes still had plenty of time to mount a comeback. The trouble for them came in the form of Kucherov’s second of the night, scored at the 3:20 mark of the second period. That goal made it 3-0 Lightning, and all but put the game to rest. It was a backbreaker for an Arizona team that has really struggled to start the year.
Those Coyotes were able to score two goals in the latter half of the middle frame, courtesy of Shane Doan and Martin Erat. Unfortunately for them, Brian Boyle squished a goal of his own right in between. That made it 4-2 Bolts heading into the final stanza. Had it not been for that early second period marker from Kucherov, the game likely would have been competitive heading into the third. As stated, it was a killer.
Unwilling to let the Coyotes build on any momentum they may have had after the second, the Bolts opened the third with two quick goals. Kucherov scored his hat-trick goal at the 8:23 mark, and Boyle scored his second of the evening about one minute later. Those goals extended the Lightning lead to 6-2, much to the delight of the crowd at Amalie.
Late goals from B.J. Crombeen (!) and Matt Carle proved to be inconsequential, and the game ended with the Bolts up 7-3. After being embarrassed in Minnesota only a few nights prior, the Lightning came back with a bang. They did everything they needed to do and more. This game gives them something to build on; here’s hoping they do exactly that when they face the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
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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