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A weekend back-to-back set with showdowns against the Winnipeg Jets and Chicago Blackhawks away from Amalie Arena left the Tampa Bay Lightning with three of a possible four points. Given the situation and the opposition, that end result is an absolute plus for the Bolts on this four-game road swing.
Some quick notes and thoughts from the trip…
- I thought goaltender Ben Bishop really put forth a strong showing in Friday’s 4-3 overtime win over the Jets, to be honest. And Big Ben needed that. While I thought that Bishop was OK in Tampa’s shootout loss to the Nashville Predators a week ago, there’s no doubt that No. 30 could have been better. You’ve been able to say that a bit this year, too. Bishop came into that with a save percentage just over .900 percentage, and was against a Jets attack that loves their ice.
Aside from a mind-numbing mistake behind the net that led to Blake Wheeler’s shorthanded strike, the 6-foot-7 was tall when the Bolts needed him to be in a strong 15-of-16 third period.
With the Bolts riding Bishop hard in the absence of Andrei Vasilevskiy, games like that are a must.
- A huge plus for the Lightning in that win over Winnipeg? Cedric Paquette chipping in with his first goal of the season. I’d make the case that the Bolts missed Paquette, who missed the first few weeks of the season with a lower-body injury, a lot more than most would have expected, too.
Paquette’s presence has been a major boost to the Lightning penalty-kill, which at one point was a complete abomination, which went a perfect 4-for-4 on the weekend, including 3-for-3 against Chicago.
- It was an absolutely awesome Stanley Cup Final rematch on Sat. night in Chicago.
Sure, the Bolts were on the wrong end of a 1-0 overtime final, but if this game told you anything, it’s that these two teams are still in pretty solid standing when it comes to their ability to win all sorts of games. High-flying end-to-end games with 5-4 finals? Sure. Slower, grind-the-other-guys-down 1-0 games? Why not? These teams can beat you in a variety ways and that’s what makes ‘em dangerous.
- And honestly, not a bad season debut for Kristers Gudlevskis, all things considered.
Against a still loaded Chicago squad at the Madhouse, the 23-year-old Latvian stopped all but one of the 32 shots thrown his way -- and went a perfect 6-for-6 with the Bolts shorthanded -- and was named the third star in the loss. Between Gudlevskis and Vasilevskiy, the Bolts’ future in the crease is strong. My ability to spell their names correctly on the first attempt, however, remains a nightmare.
- When does goal No. 1 come for Tyler Johnson? He’s been so, so close so, so many times.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.