Burns: 3 Things we learned from a thrilling overtime win in Nashville
Lightning beat writer Bryan Burns recaps the Bolts 4-3 win at Nashville
Tampa Bay had lost six straight in Nashville. In fact, one has to go all the way back to the 2007-08 season to find the last Lightning win there.
The Predators had taken six of the last seven meetings overall against the Lightning.
And the Bolts would have to overcome all of the aforementioned conditions without two of their best players, defenseman Victor Hedman and forward Ondrej Palat, who are each out significant time with lower-body injuries.
That the Lightning were able to find a way to pull out a 4-3 overtime victory in Nashville, coming from behind late on Steven Stamkos' left circle laser and pulling out the win on Yanni Gourde's overtime marker says a lot about the character in the Bolts locker room.
"To gut out a game where I really thought a lot of things were going against us, a big effort by our guys," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said following the thrilling win, the Bolts second in three games on the current road trip.
National media billed Tuesday's matchup between the Bolts and the Preds as a possible Stanley Cup preview, the Lightning owning the best record in the NHL and the Predators sitting third in the Western Conference.
If that's the case, hockey fans could be in for a treat following the end-to-end, back-and-forth action we saw Tuesday night.
We'll break down the best from a confidence-building win in Three Things we learned from sweeping a back-to-back.
1. STEVEN STAMKOS STILL KNOWS HOW TO SCORE GOALS
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos was mired in a season-long nine-game goalless drought entering Nashville. The sniper had been finding his way on the scoresheet by piling up the assists - five in his last seven games and six in his last nine following another tally Tuesday in Nashville - but finding the back of the net proved elusive.
A prolific goal scorer like Stamkos, it's only a matter of time before he would connect.
It just so happened, he picked the perfect time in Nashville.
With the Lightning trailing 3-2 late in the third period and time quickly running out, Slater Koekkoek hustled to keep a Nashville clear attempt in the zone, meeting the puck at the wall and blue line just before it squeezed out, and made a heady pass to an open Stamkos in the left circle.
You've heard how this ends before.
Stamkos absolutely blistered a one-timer that was in and out of the net so fast, there was a brief moment where you wondered if it actually went in the net.
It did, and the Lightning found the tying goal they had so desperately worked for the entire third period.
"Those are the ones you don't even feel, it's like when you hit a golf ball or hit a tennis shot and it just fires off the stick," a satisfied Stamkos said from the visitor's locker room. "I was just hoping that it was in. I heard not the typical post sound so I knew it probably hit something in the back, but it was in and out quick. It was nice to score a goal that meant something. It was timely, and obviously, I'll take it."
With the Lightning's injury issues, the team needs its leaders to step up and lead the charge.
Stamkos has done just that the last couple of games. He set up Vladislav Namestnikov with a well-timed pass on 2-on-1 earlier in the game to tie the score 2-2. And he had four shots on frame in the game, signaling a shoot-first mentality.
Finally, late in the game with desperation setting in for the Bolts, Stamkos was rewarded with a goal of his own.
"He's such an elite talent, a guy with the ability to change the game with a shot and you can see it there," said Lightning forward Chris Kunitz, who finished with a season-high three points (goal, 2 assists) on the night. "He had other chances tonight and they didn't find its way, but all he needed was one more and the patented one-timer from that side of the ice."
2. SECOND PERIOD UNKIND TO LIGHTNING
Not too often I can type that headline this season for Tampa Bay.
So many times, the second period has been the period the Lightning take control of games. They entered Nashville +27 for second period goal differential, the second-best goal differential in the NHL for any period, only trailing Los Angeles' +28 in third periods.
Per usual, the Bolts outplayed their opponent in the second period on Tuesday.
The advantage in play wasn't reflected on the scoreboard, however.
After watching so many Grade-A scoring chances fall by the wayside throughout the second, the Lightning could only watch in dismay as Nashville scored a backbreaking goal less than a minute before the break, the Predators converting for the second time on the power play in two chances when P.K. Subban lined up a shot from the top of the left circle and beat Lightning goaltender Louis Domingue through a screen provided by Viktor Arvidsson, who appeared to contact Domingue with his skate as the shot was traveling toward goal.
Unfortunately for the Bolts, the officials didn't see it that way on a challenge initiated by the Lightning coaching staff.
"The player comes. He knocks our goalie and spins him around, clearly before the puck's even in the net," an incredulous Cooper said. "I don't know. Look at it this way, I thought it was 100 percent goalie interference and I guarantee on their bench they're sitting thinking, 'This could go 50/50.'"
For a while, it looked as if the Lightning's inability to capitalize on their numerous scoring chances in the second would come back to haunt them.
Fortunately, Stamkos was able to help the Bolts forget about the missed opportunities with his late strike.
3. DOMINGUE IS THE BEST THIRD-STRING GOALIE IN THE LEAGUE
Everybody knows what kind of season Andrei Vasilevskiy is having, his presence in this weekend's NHL All-Star Game validating his emergence as one of the League's best goaltenders.
And Peter Budaj, when healthy, has proven a solid backup more than capable of keeping the Lightning rolling when it's his turn to start.
But with Budaj on the shelf with a lower-body injury, the Bolts had to recall recently-acquired Louis Domingue from their AHL affiliate in Syracuse. Domingue was much maligned in Arizona, starting the season 0-6-0 before being sent down to the minors and eventually traded away.
Arizona's loss has been the Lightning's gain.
Domingue has made two starts with Tampa Bay and has played well in each. He stopped 34-of-36 shots in his Lightning debut January 7 at Detroit to snuff out a two-game losing streak for the Bolts.
And again on Tuesday, he was more than ready to backstop the Lightning to a satisfying win in a building where wins have been extremely rare.
"He's played a couple games for us and he's been instrumental in winning both of them," Cooper said. "If you're going to win games, usually you need your goalie to make a couple saves, and he had to make more than a couple."
Domingue was under siege in the first 10 minutes of the game, the Predators peppering his goal with wave after wave of Grade-A scoring chances. He made ridiculous saves on a few but was beaten on a couple others in a defensively-challenged open to the game.
"Honestly, that was one of the toughest first periods I've ever been a part of," Domingue said. "They were coming but we blocked shots. Sometimes they make plays on the back door and I was diving, everybody was diving and we were making blocks. It was just an awesome effort."
The Lightning defense settled down after a shaky start, and Domingue settled in, not allowing another goal until Subban's controversial power-play marker.
Late in the third with the Lightning still trailing, Domingue made a big-time stop on an open shooter in the slot to keep the deficit at one.
Moments later, Stamkos scored to give the Bolts new life.
"Great character win for us," Domingue said. "There was a lot of bounces that didn't go our way. We stuck with our game plan. We kept digging, and the result showed at the end."
