This blog will read like a broken record might sound. The Tampa Bay Lightning weren’t at their best on Saturday night, but they found a way to sneak by the Washington Capitals. Thanks in large part to the efforts of Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, and Nikita Kucherov, the Bolts won a 4-3 game and moved their record to an impressive 8-3-1.
In what ultimately proved to be a back-and-forth contest, the Lightning managed to get on the board first. Ryan Callahan, in only his first game back from injury, tipped home his fourth of the season to give Tampa the 1-0 lead. For a guy who is regarded as a ‘hardnosed’ player, Callahan showcased some very soft hands as he redirected the puck past Braden Holtby.
The Capitals evened things up about seven minutes later when Marcus Johansson tracked down a rebound and sent it past Ben Bishop for his fourth of the year. While Johansson will get credit for actually scoring, the goal came as a result of Alex Ovechkin’s blinding speed. The ‘Great 8’ got behind Eric Brewer and Jason Garrison to create the scoring opportunity.
Things went from bad to worse for the Lightning, as Eric Fehr notched his first tally of the campaign only 2:11 into the second period. A strong cycle from his line allowed Fehr to utilize his speed and create a second chance on which he made no mistake.
Not wanting to be outdone, the Bolts scored their second of the game midway through the middle frame courtesy of Ondrej Palat. A disgustingly good pass from Nikita Kucherov teed the puck up for Palat to hammer past Holtby for the score. Last year’s Calder nominee had no trouble wiring it home.
That line struck again only minutes later, as Nikita Kucherov scored his fifth of the season. Eric Brewer and Tyler Johnson, who also received an assist on Palat’s goal, were credited with the apples. The two-assist performance from Johnson gives him 13 helpers this year, which is tied for the league lead. He’s coupled that with a single goal, and so he sits tied for fifth in overall league scoring.
Just as it looked like the Lightning were going to skate into the second intermission with a 3-2 lead, Troy Brouwer scored a power play goal to even things up at three. Rather than get discouraged with the development, however, Tampa struck back less than three minutes into the third. Jason Garrison’s second of the year, assisted by Steven Stamkos, proved to be the game winner.
While they certainly haven’t been at their best through twelve games this year, the Bolts are establishing themselves a team to watch. With one of the top records in the league, despite the fact that they’ve dealt and are dealing with a bushel of injuries, it’s looking more and more like this Lightning team is for real. They won’t get a chance to build on that success for a while, as their next game won’t take place until Thursday; the Calgary Flames are coming to town for a rematch of their October 21st tilt.
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.