Krenn: Three Things we learned from rallying past the Jets

The Tampa Bay Lightning picked up their second win in a row on Saturday night with an emphatic comeback victory over the Winnipeg Jets. After a four-goal first period sent both teams into the intermission tied at two, Winnipeg scored the first two goals of the second period to take a 4-2 lead. From that point on, Tampa Bay took off.

The Bolts rattled off five consecutive goals to cap off a come-from-behind win that earned the team their 100th point on the season. Tonight marked the seventh time in franchise history that the Lightning have hit the 100-point mark, with five of those seasons coming under head coach Jon Cooper.
"We've had a lot of success in the last eight or nine years," said Lightning captain Steven Stamkos. "We've had a lot of ups, a couple downs, but you learn from those things.
"When you come into training camp, obviously the goal is to win the Stanley Cup, but there's a grind that you have to go through. There's a lot of pride in making the playoffs because, as we know, you get in, you give yourself a chance. You never know what's going to happen."
Tampa Bay got a couple of big performances from some key players with Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman each recording four points in the win. Hedman picked up four assists for his second four-point game of the season and Kucherov scored two goals and added two helpers.
After falling behind 4-2, Kucherov found Nick Paul with a nifty backhand pass before the former Ottawa Senator rifled a wrist shot, top shelf, over the blocker of Connor Hellebuyck. That kickstarted five straight goals for Tampa Bay, with Kucherov factoring into four of them.
The Bolts tied the game before the end of the second period off the stick of Kucherov and proceeded to dominate the third period with three goals and a 15-4 shot advantage. With a playoff spot secured, there was plenty of opportunity for Tampa Bay to roll over and quit on tonight's game after going down by two. Instead, the Lightning pushed forward with a purpose and secured a big comeback win.
Here's three things we learned from a gutsy come-from-behind win over Winnipeg:

1. SUCCESSFULLY AVOIDING COMPLACENCY
After clinching a playoff berth with a roller-coaster game on Thursday night against Anaheim, one could see how it may have been easy for the Lightning to fall into some complacency heading into Saturday night's contest against Winnipeg. While the first shift of the game was not a great one for the Lightning, there was plenty of fire, emotion, and hard work for the remainder of the game.
Following the playoff berth on Thursday, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said, "It's hard, especially when we've won a couple Cups and there's ample opportunity for guys to take a breath and say, 'Okay,' but they haven't.
"They keep pushing forward. Good for those guys every year to say, 'We have a chance to win the Stanley Cup. We understand we have to get in the playoffs first,' and they do that. Good on them."
Some say the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in all professional sports. After winning one, there is always opportunity for a hangover. It may be easier to skip an offseason workout or breeze through a practice. After climbing to the mountaintop two years in a row, the Lightning are still grinding harder than ever to win another Stanley Cup.
Tampa Bay just punched their ticket to the playoffs and could have easily stepped back, taken a breath, and decided to coast into the postseason. The Lightning did the exact opposite of that on Saturday night. There were two fights, a couple roughing penalties, a comeback from a two-goal deficit, and a dominant third period.
It would have been easy to pack it in after falling behind by two, but the Lightning turned up the intensity and rattled off five straight goals to close out an emphatic win for the 100th point of the season.
"It could've been a game where we put our tails between our legs when it was 4-2 and we could've just mailed it in, but we responded well to that," said Stamkos. "I think when we go back and watch the video from the third, there was a lot of good things on both ends that resulted in us executing in their net."

2. BIG TIME PLAYERS MAKE BIG TIME PLAYS
It was an impressive night for two of Tampa Bay's biggest stars in Hedman and Kucherov. Statistically, it was a milestone night for both players on Saturday.
Hedman crossed the 50-assist mark for the second time in his career and tied his career-high point total of 72, a mark he hit during the 2016-17 season. Kucherov's four points pushed him over the 50-point mark this year, a feat he has now accomplished in seven consecutive seasons.
Kucherov has now scored six goals in his last eight games and has recorded 17 multi-point games in 40 contests this season.
"When he's on his game and playing like he did tonight, obviously the big goal last game too - it's about confidence," said Stamkos when asked about Kucherov. "A lot of people forget that Kuch hasn't played a lot of hockey in the past couple years. He's coming back from some pretty significant surgeries.
"The body can feel good in stretches and not so good in other stretches. It's something that takes time.
"You can tell when he has the puck and he's taking those first three steps, creating space, sucking guys in, and making plays, that's when he's at his best. You can tell, physically, he's feeling a lot better and, confidence wise, when the puck's on his stick, it's usually a very good thing for us."
Cooper felt similar to Stamkos in his evaluation of Kucherov, who registered a point on four of Tampa Bay's final five goals.
"I thought Kuch was a big reason that game turned around," said Cooper. "He made a hell of a feed to Paul for the 4-3 [goal]. He gets the 4-4 goal and then he was outstanding in the third. When the top guys are doing their thing, it usually bodes well for us."
Despite having quite the night with four points in a game for the second time this season, Hedman was enjoying watching Kucherov work his magic in the victory. The two combined for a give-and-go goal that tied the game for Tampa Bay before Stamkos scored his 33rd goal of the year. Kucherov added his second goal off a beautiful redirection and Mikhail Sergachev iced the game with his seventh of the year shortly after.
"When he's on his game, he's the best player in the league," said Hedman. "There's no doubt. Just the way he can shoot the puck and make plays.
"He's so good at finding guys - forehand or backhand. The pass to Pauly off his backhand, not a lot of players can do that knowing where he is. Great player and unbelievable when he's feeling the game like he did tonight."

3. FINDING THE RIGHT FIT
With the regular season winding down and a playoff spot secured, now may be the best time for the Lightning to figure out exactly what line combinations they want to roll out for the postseason. Over the last few games, newly acquired forward Brandon Hagel has been skating on a line alongside Anthony Cirelli and Alex Killorn.
The three have meshed well since being put together, spending solid zone time in the opponent's defensive zone and cycling the puck while wearing down defenders.
"Yeah I think we've found some chemistry," said Cirelli on Thursday. "Hags works so hard. He wins a lot of battles. He's always in the right spot. He's very skilled. He makes plays. He kind of does it all.
"Killer, I've been playing with him for a while now, so I kind of know what he brings to the table. Same thing, big body, takes pucks to the net, protects the puck well. He's good in the d-zone and he makes plays.
"I think all of us try to emphasize the little things. Hopefully we get a couple more goals here, but I think the more games we play the more chemistry we're building."
There is still time to continue with line juggling, but that trio has played well since being put together. The other forward acquired by the Lightning at the trade deadline, Paul, has spent the last two games on a line with Kucherov and Brayden Point.
"They've got lots of skill," Paul said. "They're unbelievable players, but for me, my game doesn't change too much. I'm there because I play a certain way. That's creating space for them, creating battles, getting them the puck, and giving them space to do their magic.
"My game kind of stays the same, but at the same time, just keeping my head up and knowing when they're open because when they get the puck, crazy things happen."
Paul certainly had his head up when he took the backhand pass from Kucherov and rifled it top shelf over Hellebuyck. He also picked up an assist on the following goal after corralling a puck in the Winnipeg zone before finding Kucherov, who paired up with Hedman for the give-and-go goal.
Paul looked strong on the wing playing with Kucherov and Point. At 6'3", 224 pounds, Paul is a force on the forecheck. Pairing that big body with two players like Point and Kucherov has the potential to be a game-changing line in the postseason. The Mississauga, Ontario native has a great shot, as evidenced with his 14th goal of the season on Saturday night.
Aside from the shot and the forechecking ability, Paul has a nice set of hands that he's used to stickhandle out of tight situations on multiple occasions since joining the Lightning. He also has not shied away from using those hands in a more violent manner after dropping the gloves with a tough customer in Jamie Benn during the game against Dallas.
Lightning fans remember the impact that the Coleman-Gourde-Goodrow line had on the team's Stanley Cup victories. Finding the right combination of size, speed, and skill can elevate a team to new heights and the Bolts hope they found a pair of game-changing trios with Killorn-Cirelli-Hagel and Paul-Point-Kucherov.
When the puck drops on the playoffs, it will be both Hagel and Paul's first time playing in the postseason in the NHL. The Bolts are hopeful that those two will have a huge impact in the pursuit for a third-straight Stanley Cup.