TAMPA — Saturday’s 7-0 win over the Flyers was something to celebrate, but it was just one game and the need for points doesn’t get any less important as the Lightning’s schedule becomes more stout.
They play just twice this week, but their next two opponents are the division leaders teams in the Eastern Conference. They wrap up their five-game homestand Thursday against the Metropolitan-leading Rangers, then travel to Sunrise Saturday to face the Panthers, who entered Sunday atop both the Atlantic and the NHL.
“This will be a big test for us,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “But more importantly, we’re looking at the dogfight with teams like the one we played (Saturday). So, to be able to make it a two-point game (Saturday) was big for us.”
Like last week, the Lightning will have the benefit of time off and valuable practice time. But the teams behind them in the playoff race, all who have played fewer games than Tampa Bay, will be able to close the gap while the Lightning are idle.
After this week, Tampa Bay plays the first of four games out west against a Vegas team fighting for its playoff life that upgraded at the trade deadline.
Looking back at Saturday’s win, the Lightning’s most dominant of the season, here are five encouraging numbers heading into the final 17 games of the regular season.
0
Goals allowed by Andrei Vasilevskiy
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/HAQAVQLTMZHU3DP7BLVG2ESP3A.jpg "Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) blocks a shot from Philadelphia Flyers right wing Garnet Hathaway (19) during the second period.")
Statistically speaking, Vasilevskiy has had a difficult time. Before Saturday, he had allowed three or more goals in eight of his previous nine starts and had an un-Vasy-like .861 save percentage during that stretch. Some of that was due to defensive lapses in front of him, but he’d be the first to admit there were some goals he’d like to have back. So, he needed a dominating performance like Saturday’s. Getting a big early lead helped, but Vasilevskiy did have to fight off a Flyers push at the end of the first period and throughout a second that saw Philadelphia post 15 scoring chances, including five high-danger opportunities.
1
Shots on goal from Nikita Kucherov
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/I33KE32IRJGGLL74ZV2EMYOK2E.jpg "Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) looks for an open teammate while being defended by Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Erik Johnson (77) during the first period.")
There’s no doubt the Lightning have leaned on Kucherov, and his shoot-more mentality entering this season showed he felt he needed to pick up more of the goal-scoring load. He’s one of the top candidates for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP, but he’s not going to be great every game. Those are the nights when scoring depth is needed. Kucherov again played a major role Saturday, assisting on Victor Hedman’s opening goal and finishing plus-2, but his teammates didn’t have to turn to him to bail them out.
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Conor Sheary’s goal streak after scoring just one goal in his first 45 games
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/SVYRTMYUWFH57ENBZCUU4IHIBQ.jpg "Lightning left wing Conor Sheary (73) handles the puck during the first period.")
Sheary’s offensive struggles this season have been well-documented, especially after the Lightning gave him the largest salary ($2 million average annual value) and longest term (three years) of any of their offseason signings. Though he has been a streaky player throughout his career, he’s never experienced this kind of drought. Goals the past two games can do nothing but good for his confidence. In fact, offensive success should help all aspects of his game. Sheary blocked a season-high four shots Saturday and has seven blocks and six hits over his last five games.
5
Assists by defenseman Darren Raddysh
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/2GSATVBGF5BFRK6YXRECAC7U6Q.jpg "Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh (43) salutes fans after he is honored as one of the stars of Saturday's game.")
Raddysh didn’t have more than two assists in any game this season, so his record-setting effort Saturday came out of nowhere. It shows how comfortable the second-year defenseman is getting pushing the puck in the offensive zone and putting it on net. Two of his assists came as part of the second power-play unit, which got a boost from the addition of Anthony Duclair. The acquisition of defenseman Matt Dumba might benefit Raddysh the most, because he’s had to play big minutes lately. Dumba will help eat up that ice time and can be another power-play option while adding veteran calm to the right side of the defense.
18:08
Ice time for defenseman Nick Perbix in his first game on the left side
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/7RYYO4PGWNBQRHRDJAAWXLGX5Y.jpg "Lightning defenseman Nick Perbix (48) and Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier (14) battle for possession of the puck during the third period.")
Cooper usually prefers to put his left-shot defensemen on the left side and his right-shot D on the right side, so it was a wrinkle to put Perbix, a right-shot defenseman, on the left side. Perbix has played well of late and is plus-7 over his last 40 games. We will probably see rookie Emil Lilleberg back from AHL Syracuse eventually, possibly for the upcoming road trip, but the fact that Cooper trusts Perbix on the left side is a good thing.
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