Stamkos made up for his gaffe in the shootout. After Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point were unsuccessful in the first two rounds, the Lightning captain lifted the Bolts to victory with his conversion, the team's first in two shootouts this season.
Vasilevskiy made the ensuing stop on Sonny Milano to end the shootout and capture both points for the Lightning.
"It just goes to show you can go from hero to goat pretty quick if they score on that dumb penalty I took in overtime," Stamkos said. "So, obviously, a lot of thanks to the PK guys. They did a great job, especially Vasy with some huge saves just to get that opportunity. So, it was nice to see that one go in."
3. DÉJÀ VU
The 2014-15 Tampa Bay Lightning team that went to the Stanley Cup Final developed a signature trait over the course of that regular season: an ability to squash losing streaks before they could even get started.
That squad never lost more than two games in a row until the Stanley Cup Final against Chicago.
The current Lightning team is developing a similar habit, at least at the start of the season.
"Early to say, but what I can say about this team so far though is when we've had a little bit of a stinker, we've responded," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. "You've got to like that about your group. The big things is, you just can't have the stinkers every second night. But I've really liked the way the guys have responded when we've had a subpar performance."
After an uneven opening weekend of the season in a pair of games against Florida, the Lightning reeled off four victories in a row. When the Lightning lost 5-4 in a shootout at New Jersey, admittedly not a bad performance or result, they came back with four more consecutive victories.
Last Saturday's 4-1 loss versus Anaheim, arguably the Bolts' worst game of the year, was followed by an 8-5 offensive explosion in Sunrise.
And, again, the Bolts shook off a lethargic outing in Thursday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Rangers, at the time the last-place team in the Metropolitan Division, to come out with a more well-rounded effort Saturday versus a really good Columbus team.
"We want to be a team that bounces back after tough games," Bolts defenseman Victor Hedman said. "It doesn't have to be losses. We know when we're not at our best and you can still win games. We want to come back strong every time we have an opportunity."
The 2014-15 team was able to rather comfortably qualify for the postseason thanks to an ability to respond with a positive effort following a loss.
That same habit is quickly becoming a hallmark of the 2017-18 Bolts as well.