The score absolutely flattered their opponent tonight, but the Tampa Bay Lightning managed to hang on for a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars. Complete buy-in from the team allowed Andrei Vasilevskiy to record a franchise record, 12th straight victory. It’s been quite a run. Here are tonight’s thumbs:

Thumbs Up: Andrei Vasilevskiy Sets the Record
Thanks to the team in front of him playing phenomenal defence, Andrei Vasilevskiy wasn’t tested all that much in what became his 12th straight win. Even so, the goaltender made the stops he needed to make to secure the win. 16 saves on 17 shots against may not sound all that impressive, but Vasilevskiy needed to be sharp given that this was a one-goal game.

Thumbs Up: Team Sacrifice
From top to bottom, the Lightning skaters made sure that Vasilevskiy was going to set the record. They did it by limiting Dallas to relatively harmless chances, and by getting in the way of Grade-A opportunities. Each of the Lightning’s defenders offered at least one blocked shot tonight, with some blocks being particularly memorable. As an example: Late in the game, Erik Cernak took a shot off the inside of his leg and could barely get off the ice under his own power, only to return on his very next shift to help kill a potentially-pivotal penalty. It was that kind of game. Everybody needed to do their part, and everybody did it.

Outside of a late push from the Stars in the third period, Tampa Bay had this game under control from start to finish. It's hard to ask for much more.

Thumbs Up: The Gourde Line… Again
This was exactly kind of game in which the Yanni Gourde line shines. It was a game that allowed them to drive play in the right direction, while simultaneously protecting their own end with expert precision. I thought they looked excellent, and the underlying numbers seem to agree; Natural Stat Trick shows them as generating a 74% expected goal share at five-on-five.

For all that great work, they were rewarded with Yanni Gourde’s 12th (!) of the season, the game-winning marker. It may show as unassisted in on the scoresheet, but it’s a goal that came only because of great transition work in the neutral zone by the whole line.

Thumbs Up: The Big Names Combine
“Stamkos from Hedman and Palat on the power play” has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? The goal won’t go down as the prettiest from-the-circle-one-timer in Stamkos’ career, but it counts just the same. The Captain’s 16th goal of the season couldn’t have come at a better time, with his Bolts dominating the game through the first two periods with nothing to show for it.

Thumbs Up: The Penalty Kill
Killing off the late five-on-three was bigger than huge for the Lightning. As Jon Cooper noted in his post-game comments, the game was on the line.

Thumbs Down: Whatever Happened to the Dallas Stars
The Lightning took the Stanley Cup last Fall, but did they also take Dallas’ spirit? This is a team that looks as lifeless as any that the Lightning have seen this season, including the Detroit Red Wings… I don’t ask this rhetorically: What happened to the Stars?

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Ultimately, this was a textbook performance from Jon Cooper’s club. They’ll get a chance to do it again against the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

As always, thanks for reading.

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