While there may be a hint of sarcasm in this blog’s title, the fact remains that Anders Lindback has played some very good hockey since Ben Bishop went down with an upper-body injury. After defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 3-0 on Tuesday, Lindback led the Lightning to a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
The Lightning got off to a great start versus the Flyers, which really allowed Lindback to settle in and build some confidence. Just two minutes after puck drop, Tyler Johnson wired a one-timer past Ray Emery to give the Bolts a 1-0 lead. His 24th of the season, which broke the franchise single-season record for goals by a rookie, was assisted by the previous record holder Steven Stamkos and Mike Kostka.
After building up that razor thin 1-0 lead only moments into the game, the Lightning seemed to welcome the Flyers into the game. Give credit to Philadelphia for playing well and combining with the Lightning to create a very entertaining game.
It should be noted that the Flyers took control of the possession game midway through the first frame and really didn’t let go until the final buzzer rang. Because of that, the Lightning were forced to rely on Lindback. That was especially true towards the end of the second frame.
Since taking over from Bishop, Lindback has looked every bit like a goaltender who can lead this Lightning team for the next little while. I’m well aware that the sample size is small, but good play from Lindback over this stretch provides far more optimism than the alternative would have. Just as he was against the Leafs, Lindback was calm in the Lightning net on Thursday. He was tracking the puck well, and he made numerous highlight reel saves. Anders Lindback isn’t Ben Bishop, but Anders Lindback may be able to provide this team with a chance moving into round one of the playoffs.
Philadelphia broke through the force field in the Lightning crease at the 18:39 mark of the second, as Wayne Simmonds wristed home his 27th of the season. Allowed to walk out front all alone with his team on the power play, Simmonds took a shot that just squeaked through the Lightning goaltender to knot things up at one.
Giving up a goal in the waning moments of a period is never a good feeling, but the Bolts didn’t let it affect them at all. Despite only putting nine shots on goal in the final frame, Tampa scored three goals. Richard Panik notched the first final frame tally at the 4:33 mark when he grabbed his own rebound and backhanded the puck past Emery. The goal that gave the Bolts a 2-1 lead was assisted by Victor Hedman and Mike Kostka.
If people were surprised to see Panik, who has struggled at times this year, score a big goal for the team, they were probably downright shocked to see Eric Brewer score the insurance marker. About five minutes after Panik scored, Brewer took a great pass from Tyler Johnson and wired a shot past Emery to put the Lightning up 3-1. Brewer’s second of the year was a goal scorer’s goal if ever there was one; it was just a pure snipe.
Just as it looked like Tampa might be able to coast to victory with a two goal lead, the Hockey Gods decided to make things interesting. Sean Couturier scored his 12th of the year at the 12:22 mark of the third to bring his Flyers back to within one. It should be noted, however, that it was actually Lightning forward Ondrej Palat who deflected the puck past Lindback. Just as they did so many times back in the QMJHL, Palat and Couturier teamed up to score a great goal. Maybe Palat just forgot that he and Couturier aren’t teammates anymore.
It would have been tough if that goal had spawned a Flyers comeback, so thankfully that didn’t happened. Steven Stamkos put Philadelphia’s chances to sleep when he scored his 25th (!) goal of the year. The power play goal, assisted by Valtteri Filppula and Victor Hedman, was the final one scored in the 4-2 contest. As I noted on Twitter, 25 goals is a great season for most guys. Steven Stamkos missed 45 games with a broken leg. What he’s done is superhuman.
The win moves the team’s record to 44-27-9, which is good for 97 points and third place in the Atlantic Division. More importantly, perhaps, is the fact that Tampa is now within one point of the Montreal Canadiens for second place. That second slot comes with home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Lightning will have a chance to pass Montreal tomorrow night, as they’ll take on the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final regular season game at the Forum this year.
As always, thanks for reading.