Burns: Three Things we learned from a back-to-back sweep

The beginning of Tampa Bay's four-game road trip had Bolts Nation questioning whether the Lightning had the energy to sustain a third-straight Stanley Cup run.
The trip's conclusion has everybody drinking the kool aid once again.
Okay, so maybe they're cautious sips.

Tampa Bay produced a convincing 4-1 victory over the New York Islanders in their first-ever visit to UBS Arena, taking control of the game in the second and third periods to overcome a 1-0 deficit entering the first intermission. The Lightning scored a sweep of a back-to-back set for the second time this season having come-from-behind to win in overtime in Detroit 2-1 a day earlier, the Bolts finishing the road trip with a 2-2-0 record after starting with two-straight one-goal defeats.
The Lightning just completed their most grueling stretch of the season, 11 games in 11 different cities, 10 of them coming on the road. They stumbled a bit, going 5-6-0, but righted the ship with back-to-back wins to close it out.
Now they'll play 11 of their next 13 at AMALIE Arena. And 12 of the final 17 games come at home to close out the regular season.
"Two big wins here back-to-back. Everyone in that locker room is super excited to get a long stretch at home," Victor Hedman said outside the Lightning locker room in Elmont. Big games, obviously, but just nice to be home and be in one spot for a while."
Here's what we learned from the Bolts' extended stay away from AMALIE Arena.

1. NO HEADS HANGING
The Lightning briefly stemmed their negative momentum after rallying in Detroit to end a three-game losing skid, Steven Stamkos scoring the tying goal with 4:38 remaining and Brayden Point popping in a rebound in overtime for just the Bolts' third win in their last nine contests.
But the struggle continued for Tampa Bay in the first period Sunday in Elmont. After a brief, bright start to the game, the Islanders started to tilt the ice following a skirmish behind the goal that led to Pat Maroon and Ross Johnston dropping the gloves. The Isles started outchancing the Bolts from that point and capitalized when Brock Nelson snapped a shot from the right circle shortside over the glove of Andrei Vasilevskiy leading a 3-on-2 rush to put New York in front 1-0 late in the period going into the first intermission.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said his team didn't panic in between periods. There was no despair in their demeanor. They recommitted to the game plan and came out with a purpose in the second.
"I think to be honest things turned for us when it was a 0-0 game last night, we go down 1-0 with 13 minutes to go and for whatever reason, urgency jumped back into our game, we fought our way back into it, won in overtime and I think a little bit of that momentum carried into today," Cooper said when asked if his team's game is rounding into shape. "I loved our start. We could have been up a couple early. We weren't. Then we fall behind. But, again, the guys dug in. When things aren't going as well as we think they can and confidence becomes an issue, that's when you have to strap the boots on and go to work and they did that. But nobody was hanging their heads. I think that was a big thing for us."
The Lightning answered 1:10 into the second, Victor Hedman leading the charge down the right wing on the power play and ripping a shot into the back of the net to tie the game 1-1.
Eight-and-a-half minutes later, Alex Killorn finished off a 2-on-1 rush with Anthony Cirelli to put the Bolts in front for good 2-1 and net his 20th goal of the season, the second time in his career he's reached the 20-goal mark.
The third period was all Lightning. Ross Colton made it 3-1 midway through the final frame by sending home a rebound following relentless pressure and a mad scramble in front of the Islanders net. Mikhail Sergachev sealed the win with a smart shot at Steven Stamkos' stick blade in front of the net that rebounded back for him to pop in.
"Kuch made a hell of a pass," Sergachev said of the insurance goal. "I saw Stammer on the back door. I was trying to finish it nicely so it was going to be like a tic-tac-toe goal. NHL would post it probably. But it is what it is. And then I got a rebound and just shot it and got lucky and it went in."
Tampa Bay outshot the Islanders 25-13 over the final two periods. Vasilevskiy was hardly needed in the third.
"We played great when we got the lead," Sergachev said. "I don't think they got a lot of chances. We played our game. We kept on scoring, kept on pushing but not cheating the game. That was the part that I liked most was we weren't cheating. It was good."

2. SPECIAL TEAMS KICKING IN
Tampa Bay's penalty kill has been pretty darn effective of late considering the enormous amount of pressure it's been put under because of the Bolts' penchant for taking penalties.
The Lightning posted back-to-back 5-for-5 efforts on the penalty kill in the previous two games and was again effective on Long Island.
The Lightning took the game's opening penalty, an all-too common theme of late, but weren't victimized by the early gaffe. The Islanders also gained a power play right after the Lightning went in front 2-1 but couldn't stem the tide and the Bolts' momentum continued.
The penalty kill, even without the indispensable Ryan McDonagh for the last two games, has been perfect over its last three, going a combined 13-for-13.
The power play has started to contribute too, scoring three goals over the last two games, including both goals in the 2-1 win at Detroit Saturday that stopped the Lightning's season long-tying losing skid at three games.
On Long Island, the power play got the offense started for the Bolts.
Coming out of the first break trailing 1-0 but with 1:15 remaining on a power play, the Lightning struck back when Victor Hedman flashed down the right wing and called his own number on a rush to rip one past Ilya Sorokin and level the score with seconds left on the man-advantage.
That seemed to be the lift the rest of the Lightning needed as from that point, the game was there for the Bolts to control.
"I think it was big that our special teams have kicked in a bit," Cooper said. "We kind of get a little momentum off that, and the PK has been outstanding. A couple new guys we brought in here have really helped and you can build off of that and, again, play a little defense like we have the last couple games here and good things will happen for you."
In their last six games, the Lightning have scored six power-play goals, including multiple PPGs in two of those contests.
"When you go through this stretch that we've been on, you put pressure on yourself to produce, especially on the power play," Hedman said. "But there's going to be games where it doesn't happen. But for us, we believe in ourselves, and we believe in the group that we have. Today wasn't your typical power-play goal, but we'll take it."

3. D-MEN SHINE IN MAC'S ABSENCE
Lightning blue line mainstay Ryan McDonagh sat for a second-straight game as he's out indefinitely with an upper-body injury after blocking a shot in the loss at Boston on Thursday night.
The Lightning can ill-afford to lose McDonagh for any length of time. He stabilizes the back end with his steadying presence, can kill most any play in the defensive zone, is the lynchpin on the Bolts' penalty kill and is one of the most respected leaders and voices on the team.
But while, he's been out, others have stepped up on the back end to lead the charge.
On Sunday, it was Victor Hedman and Mikhail Sergachev with Cal Foote putting together one of his best games of the season.
Hedman pumped in his 18th goal of the season on the early second period power play and was heavily involved offensively all game, registering a team-high six shots, the second most he's put up in a game all season.
"It was on primetime back home in Sweden too, so hopefully a lot of family and friends were watching that game," Hedman said, referring to a game watch at a popular tavern in his hometown of Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. "It's always fun to play these early games because you know a lot of people back home is watching. Always nice to get a goal in well."
Sergachev had a hand in both Lightning goals in the third period. He set up Ross Colton's marker that made it 3-1, that his 134th career assist to pass Roman Hamrlik and move to fourth place among Tampa Bay's all-time defenseman assist leaders.
He then followed up his own blocked shot with a rebound goal late in the contest for an insurance tally to register his ninth multi-point game of the season.
And Cal Foote, playing for just the second time since March 10 with McDonagh out, dished out four hits in over 16 minutes of action, his highest ice time since going nearly 23 minutes January 22 at San Jose.
"Footer's come in and I thought he was outstanding today," Cooper said. "You look on the back end, all the other guys played well. Sergy was a beast, but Footer was really, really good. You have a little depth back there. You don't want to see guys get hurt, but if they do, you need guys to step up, and Footer did that today."