One of the big storylines from this game was the ability of the Yanni Gourde-Zemgus Girgersons-Pontus Holmberg line to match up against Winnipeg’s top line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, and Gabe Vilardi.
The Scheifele line has been the Jets’ most prolific scoring unit this season, so containing those players is no small feat. And while it’s true that the Scheifele line did contribute Winnipeg’s lone goal in this game, it’s also a fact that for most of the night, the Lightning kept them in check.
On most of Scheifele’s shifts, the Lightning were able to get Gourde and company out on the ice at the same time. Joining the three Lightning forwards, as they often do against the opposition’s best offensive players, were defensemen Darren Raddysh and J.J. Moser.
The Gourde line did to the Scheifele line what they’ve accomplished against so many other top opposition lines. They controlled the puck in the offensive zone, thereby preventing those skilled opposing players from going on the attack. Connor scored the goal on a deflection in the second period, but the o-zone time for that line was limited. Winnipeg head coach Scott Arniel even swapped Alex Iafallo for Vilardi in the third period; it didn’t help.
The Lightning netted three goals of their own over the first 40 minutes to build a 3-1 lead. On the opening goal, Moser delivered a long outlet up to Raddysh, who was up in the play and on the left side of the ice. As Raddysh carried the puck into the offensive zone, he drew Winnipeg defenseman Elias Salomonsson to him, which opened up the middle of the ice. Dominic James darted into the space, and Raddysh slipped him the puck. James finished an in-alone chance on Connor Hellebuyck at 14:58.
The second goal came early in the middle period. Gourde fed Raddysh at the right point, and Raddysh ripped a slapshot that deflected off Hellebuyck’s stick and caromed into the top of the net at 1:37.
Less than three minutes after Connor’s tally at 12:25 cut the Lightning lead in half, Gourde re-established a two-goal lead. The Jets committed a penalty on Gage Goncavles. Andrei Vasilevskiy went off for the delayed penalty, and Nikita Kucherov jumped on the ice as the extra attacker. Then Gourde replaced Goncalves, who had to go to the bench for having lost his helmet. During the delayed penalty sequence, Kucherov slipped a pass to Gourde in the slot, and Gourde pushed a shot past Hellebuyck at 15:17.
The Lightning managed the third period well. They held the Jets to just four shots on net, and they owned most of the possession. Gourde set up Kucherov for an empty-netter at 18:52. Kucherov finished the month of January with 31 points, the third 30-point month in his career.
Vasilevskiy delivered yet another fantastic performance. As the Gourde line frustrated the Scheifele line, a couple of other Winnipeg players generated some of the Jets’ best chances. Morgan Barron, playing his 300th career NHL game, had a first-period breakaway that Vasilevskiy stopped. Vasilevskiy also made six saves on Salomonsson, who has a big shot from the point.
Next up, of course, is Sunday’s Stadium Series game against the Bruins, who wrapped up January with a record of 11-2-1. The Lightning went 11-1-1 in January.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Yanni Gourde — Lightning. Goal and two assists.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy — Lightning. 22 saves.
- Darren Raddysh — Lightning. Goal and two assists.
