After losing to the Utah Hockey Club (32-29-11) 6-4 last Saturday, the Tampa Bay Lightning (42-25-5) were looking to get revenge. In an emotion-filled match, the Lightning thunderstruck Utah 8-0.
Nikita Kucherov recorded a goal and three assists and Oliver Bjorkstrand notched two goals in the last two periods. Brayden Point scored his 36th of the season and 300th of his NHL career. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves to give himself his sixth shutout of the season.
Thursday’s matchup was set to be former Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev’s first time back in Tampa since his trade to Utah. The game also marked Tampa defensemen Ryan McDonagh’s 1000th game in the NHL, spanning with the New York Rangers, Nashville Predators, and the Lightning.
Forward Jake Guentzel opened the scoring early, notching his first of the night 1:30 minutes into the period. Shortly after, defensemen Victor Hedman scored his 13th of the season to put the Bolts up 2-0.
Winger Gage Gonclaves scored five minutes into the second period, followed shortly by Kucherov’s 32nd of the season. Guentzel scored his second of the game on the powerplay towards the end of the second. Two minutes later, Bjorkstrand put Tampa up 6-0 with his 18th of the year.
Point scored nine minutes into the final frame to extend their lead to 7-0. Bjorkstrand scored his second and the game winning goal with five minutes left in the game, taking home the game 8-0.
Vasilevskiy saved all 25 shot attempts Utah made. He now has a record of 35-19-3 with a .921 SV% and 2.18 GAA. The Russian goaltender is two wins shy of passing Harry Lumley for 29th all-time in wins.
Tampa’s victory against Utah now ties them for first place in the Atlantic division along with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers. They now only have ten games remaining in the season. The Bolts have the highest goal differential in the Atlantic with +67.
In his 1000th game, McDonagh recorded two secondary assists on Guentzel and Bjorkstrand’s first goals of the night. The two-time Stanley Cup champion was named the first star of the night, with Kucherov and Vasilevskiy following behind.
The Lightning play their next game this Saturday, March 29th, against the New York Islanders (32-29-10). The game will be broadcasted on FanDuel Sports Network South and MSG Sportsnet.
