The Tampa Bay Lightning extended their point streak to six games with a 3-2 victory in overtime against the Colorada Avalanche. The Bolts acquired three of the four possible points from their back-to-back road games this weekend and now have 60 points on the season.
Drouin the Hero
Let's be clear about one thing, last night's game should never have gone into overtime. Tampa Bay had control of the contest for the first two periods, establishing a two-goal lead and then just let it slip away.
Matt Duchene's game-tying goal with 42 seconds left to play in the third had the potential of being the dagger for Tampa Bay. There is nothing worse than losing a lead less than a minute left in regulation, especially when it is against the worst team in the league.
If the Bolts wound up losing the game in overtime, it would have no doubt been viewed as a disappointment. Tampa cannot afford to let two points slip away at this point in the season. Luckily, Jonathan Drouin made sure this did not happen. He completely took control of the puck in overtime, doing everything but stand on his head to make sure the puck wound up in the back of the net. Drouin's game-winner kept hope alive and allows the Lightning to continue to build on this impressive point streak.
A Neccessary Victory
Nobody wants to lose to the worst team in the NHL, especially when every game matters and you have been playing so well recently. There will definitely be some discussion about how the Lightning allowed last night's game to slip into overtime but at least they will be talking about it as victors.
With the Lightning still clinging to the hope of getting into the playoff picture, losing to the Avalanche could have been the final nail in the coffin. If you want to prove you are one of the best teams in the league, you have to win the "should win" games. Last night was for sure a "should win" game.
Tampa Bay still finds themselves alive in a very congested Eastern Conference. They are six points behind the final spot in the division and five points behind the second wild card spot. Climbing into one of these spots will prove to be a challenge but if the Bolts can add some wins to this current point streak, they could find themselves right back in it.
On Tap
The Lightning will be back home on Tuesday night where they will take on the Edmonton Oilers at 7:30 p.m. ET.