It was a bit of a snooze-fest, but the Tampa Bay Lightning managed to eek out a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks yesterday in an important divisional matchup. The win, Andrei Vasilevskiy’s tenth in a row, keeps the Lightning atop the Central Division standings. Here are yesterday’s thumbs:

Thumbs Up: Andrei Vasilevskiy Extends His Streak
As mentioned, the Lightning goaltender won his tenth start in a row last night, which puts him only one win short of the franchise record held by Louis Domingue. It’s been an incredible run for Vasilevskiy, who continues to be the frontrunner for the Vezina this season. He wasn’t tested all that often yesterday, but he made the saves he needed to make and allowed the players in front on him to win the game. Some nights, that’s all he needs to do.

Thumbs Up: Ross Colton’s Offensive Instincts
Ross Colton has certainly added a new dynamic to Tampa’s fourth line. The Mathieu Joseph, Pat Maroon, Colton trio is clearly developing some trust with head coach Jon Cooper, as they played about ten minutes yesterday. Cooper’s trust was rewarded with the game-winning goal. It came after a brilliant exit from the defensive zone, culminating with a slick semi-breakaway move from Colton for his second of the season. That’s now three points in five career games for the 2016 fourth-round pick.

Thumbs Down: Relying on Puck Luck
As much as Colton’s goal demonstrated some serious offensive skill, the Lightning were lucky to be in a position where they even had a chance to score a game-winning goal like that. Their other two tallies, courtesy of Alex Killorn and Yanni Gourde, were true gifts from Kevin Lankinen.

It was a fairly low-event game from a team that is known to win when playing high-event hockey. They picked up the pace a little bit in the third period, but really didn’t create much through the first 40 minutes. With the Central Division standings being as tight as they are – and with the prize for first being significant, given the strength of both Carolina and Florida – it would have been nice to see a touch more urgency. Nevertheless, a win is a win.

Thumbs Up: Victor Hedman’s High-Scoring Steadiness
This was a classic Victor Hedman performance. He was credited with an empty-net goal and an assist on Killorn’s goal, but did so much more than that. When he was on the ice, he controlled the game for Tampa Bay. Per Natural Stat Trick, he generated a five-on-five shot attempt share of 76% to lead the team; the Blackhawks only generated three scoring chances with him on the ice at even strength.

In today’s NHL, there are high-scoring defensemen who give up a lot going the other direction. There are also steady defenders who don’t make much noise on the scoresheet. Then there’s the special breed, of which Victor Hedman is a part, that creates plenty of offence and gives up nothing in the defensive zone. Where would this franchise be had the New York Islanders taken him first overall in 2009?

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At the end of it all, this was a fairly low-entertainment-value game. Here’s hoping these two teams deliver more for the viewing public on Saturday.

As always, thanks for reading.

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