Bolts finish off sweep of Blackhawks

The Lightning earned their second-straight win over the Blackhawks to open the season with a 5-2 victory on Friday night at Amalie Arena.

After a scoreless opening 20 minutes - in which Tampa Bay was outshot 13-10 - the Bolts built a three-goal lead with an offensive outburst at the start of the second period.
On the Lightning's first goal, Steven Stamkos capitalized on a Collin Delia turnover behind the net and found Ondrej Palat who scored into a wide open net. Two minutes later Alex Killorn doubled the lead after settling into a soft spot in coverage in the slot and firing a shot that beat Delia to the glove side. Blake Coleman followed that up with his first goal of the season moments later, sweeping the puck over the line in the midst of a scramble in the Hawks crease.

The Blackhawks scored twice late in the period to tighten the game heading to the third. Alex DeBrincat got Chicago on the board with a power play goal at the 14:20 mark and Patrick Kane roofed a backhander over Andrei Vaslievskiy's glove less than two minutes later to make it 3-2.
Firmly in control of the momentum, the Blackhawks had a chance to tie the game with back-to-back power plays in the third. The Bolts responded, however, with a pair of kills to maintain their lead.
Failing to cash in on those opportunities with the man advantage would prove costly for Chicago as Tampa Bay got some much needed insurance on goals from Yanni Gourde and Steven Stamkos late in the third to put the game away.

The Bolts were the dominant team for much of this season-opening series. In the two games, Tampa Bay outscored Chicago 10-3 and only allowed one goal in five-on-five play.
With the games on Sunday and Tuesday against Dallas rescheduled for May, the Lightning will be off until next Thursday when they open a four-game road trip in Columbus.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
No Scoring
2nd Period
TBL | 2:25 Ondrej Palat (2) - Steven Stamkos
TBL | 4:43 Alex Killorn (1) - Tyler Johnson, Anthony Cirelli
TBL | 8:11 Blake Coleman (1) - Barclay Goodrow, Yanni Gourde
CHI | 14:20 Alex DeBrincat (1) - Dylan Strome, Adam Boqvist - PPG
CHI | 16:11 Patrick Kane (1) - Alex DeBrincat
3rd Period
TBL | 13:32 Yanni Gourde (1) - Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow
TBL | 17:38 Steven Stamkos (2) - Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point