Coming off a great game in Pittsburgh Tuesday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning looked to keep the mojo going upon returning home. They did that, scoring three first period goals en route to a 5-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes.
Game Flow
The first period started with a bang, as Liam O’Brien and Pat Maroon dropped the gloves off the opening faceoff. Both players were assessed five minute majors for fighting.
After that, the game opened up. Each team had good chances to score but couldn’t convert. That included a Bolts power play which produced a couple of grade-A chances that yielded nothing on the scoreboard.
Once the power play expired, a defensive miscue led to a 2-on-1 rush the other way. Steven Stamkos made a perfect pass over to Alex Killorn who fired the puck past Coyotes rookie goaltender Ivan Prosvetov. That made it 1-0 Lightning.
Shortly thereafter, Killorn stripped the puck at the blue line and beat Prosvetov to make it 2-0.
Nearly two minutes later, Andrew Ladd was sent to the box for cross checking. A little over a minute later, Stamkos beat Prosvetov, making it 3-0 after 20 minutes.
The middle frame was mainly dominated by the Coyotes, as they held an 11-8 shot advantage. Despite that stat, the Lightning scored. Alex Barre-Boulet tipped a Mikhail Sergachev shot to make it 4-0.
Lawson Crouse broke Andrei Vasilevskiy’s shutout with about 7:30 remaining in regulation. That made it 4-1.
Defenseman Andrej Sustr got in on the act then by scoring his first goal in years to cap the night off right, making it 5-1.
Game Notes
- The Lightning scored more first period goals (3) in this game than any of their previous games combined (1).
- Steven Stamkos’ first period power play goal was the team’s first in five games.
- Andrej Sustr’s late goal was his first in the NHL since December 5, 2017.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy has allowed one goal against in his past two games.
Up Next
With two consecutive wins under their belt, the Lightning will look to make it three in a row when they host Alex Ovechkin and the high-flying Washington Capitals on Monday night, November 1. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM EST.