Burns: Three things we learned from sweeping the Sharks

The Tampa Bay Lightning hadn't swept a multi-game season series from the San Jose Sharks since the 2002-03 season.
The Bolts had lost four straight at home to the Sharks.
Both of those dubious streaks came to an end on Saturday in Tampa Bay's 5-2 victory over San Jose at AMALIE Arena.
The Bolts exploded for four goals in the third period, turning a 1-1 nailbiter into a runaway win. The hard-fought victory came at an important time for the Lightning too, coming off their worst stretch of the season after dropping three of four during a post-Thanksgiving road trip.
The Lightning "played much better (Saturday night) than any time on the road," according to head coach Jon Cooper.
What went right for the Bolts against San Jose?
We'll recap the main takeaways in Three Things we learned from sweeping San Jose.

1. GO JOHNNY GO
Tyler Johnson was mired in a career-long 15 game goalless drought coming into Saturday's game versus San Jose.
Johnson's struggles weren't for a lack of opportunities, however.
A game earlier in Boston, Johnson had a pair of prime chances to score. On a partial break, Johnson scooted a puck toward the far post from in close that beat Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask, but the puck caromed off the post and slid all the way across the goal line - somehow avoiding Rask's skate - before Rask could trap it against the outside of the net on the opposite post.
Johnson had to feel snakebitten with so many good scoring chances going by the wayside.
But he never let it affect his demeanor or his play. The 27-year-old center kept plugging away and doing the little things to help the Lightning win.
On Saturday, Johnson's hard work finally paid off as he scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period on a power play and, 4:10 later, netted his second of the night, which would prove to be the game-winner.

"He's earned it," Cooper said. "If I was going to look back and circle some of the forwards I thought were really playing well for us in a time when our team wasn't playing well, Johnny was one of them. As a coach, you have to get him out there more. It was just a matter of time. When you're doing the right things and you're working, it's a matter of time and tonight was his time."
Johnson recorded his first multi-goal game of the season and 14th of his career.
"Yeah, that's how hockey goes," Johnson said after the game. "Sometimes you get the chances and the bounces don't go your way, and then other times you kind of get these garbage goals that just find a way to go in."
Neither of Johnson's markers were garbage goals on Saturday. On the first, he outraced a Sharks penalty killer to reach a dumped puck in the zone first and shoot past an unaware Martin Jones. On the second, he was working hard in front of the net and was able to rebound Stamkos' saved shot.
2. POWER SURGE
The Lightning struggled to score goals on their recent four-game road trip, only netting three goals at 5-on-5, two of those coming from defensemen and the other from AHL callup Cory Conacher playing his first NHL game of the season.
But the power play never faltered, continuing to produce despite the ineffective 5-on-5 play.
Once again, the special teams unit was the group to kick start the Lightning offense in their four-goal explosion in the third period.

Johnson's power-play marker 1:39 into the final period gave the Bolts their first advantage at 2-1. A little over four minutes later, Johnson scored again for a 3-1 lead, and, with just under nine minutes to go, Conacher scored his second goal in as many games this season with the Lightning for a 4-1 advantage the Sharks couldn't overcome.
Tampa Bay's power play has produced goals in six-straight games now, one game from tying its season high (7). The Lightning power play has scored in 11 of its last 12 games and 22 of 26 games overall this season.
When the Lightning are searching for goals, more often than not, it's the power play that's gotten the offense cranking this season.
Again on Saturday, that proved to be the case.
3. LINE SWITCHAROO
Despite owning one of the NHL's best offenses, the top two scorers in the League along with one of the top two goal scorers, Tampa Bay had stagnated of late, scoring just seven goals combined over its last four games.
To spark his team, Cooper decided to switch up the lines, breaking up the high-scoring trio of Vladislav Namestnikov, Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov by moving Kucherov to the second line and bring Johnson up to play the right wing alongside Namestnikov and Stamkos.
Additionally, Yanni Gourde slotted in as the third line center to take Johnson's place.
The shifting line combos worked as the Lightning netted five goals, including four at even strength, for their best offensive output since scoring six against Dallas on November 16.
"We went, I don't know, 20-plus games and barely changed a thing," Cooper said. "As a coach, you're just trying to put the guys in the best position to succeed."
It's hard to tell if Cooper will go back to his original lines or stick with the revamped lines going forward.
But Saturday's result showed that the Lightning don't have to stay married to certain line combinations throughout the season, that switching things up can be the jump start the Bolts need to continue winning over the long haul of an 82-game season.
"We've been together long enough where guys have played with each other," Cooper said. "We had to change things up, and tonight it worked out."