The Lightning entered this game hoping to tighten up their defensive play, which had gotten leakier in previous contests.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen against the Jets. The Lightning saw a four-goal third-period lead get whittled down to a one-goal margin. But they did plenty well offensively versus Winnipeg, particularly during a late second-period surge in which they netted three goals over a 3:07 span.
With Zemgus Girgensons injured, the Lightning mixed up their forward lines. Pontus Holmberg moved onto a unit with Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel—the three players combined to post 10 points. Holmberg tied a career high with three assists and set a career high with four points.
The Lightning’s first goal, however, came from Brayden Point, who snapped a shot from the high slot into the upper corner of the Winnipeg net at 2:20.
The Jets, mired in a six-game winless skid and coming off a lopsided home loss to Florida, played a spirited game. They battled back to tie the game before the first period ended. Following an icing on the Lightning, the Jets won the ensuring offensive-zone faceoff. Eventually, the puck came to Neal Pionk, who ripped a right-point slapshot past Andrei Vasilevskiy at 17:45.
The teams traded dangerous power plays early in the second but couldn’t score. Less than a minute after the Lightning got through their penalty kill, they grabbed the lead back. Jeff Viel worked the puck out of the neutral zone, where Dominic James and Conor Geekie countered on a two-on-one. James passed the puck to Geekie at the back post, and Geekie, with Adam Lowry hounding him from behind, backhanded the puck over Stuart Skinner and into the net at 9:43.
The Lightning killed another Winnipeg power play to preserve the lead. Then came their offensive barrage at the end of the frame. Holmberg was involved in all three goals. First, during a Lightning power play, he worked the puck to the front of the net, where Cirelli had been knocked down but still managed to knock the puck past Skinner at 15:56.
John Carlson scored off a one-timer at the end of a tic-tac-toe passing sequence. Hagel fed Holmberg at the right circle, and Holmberg wired a quick pass to Carlson at the left circle. That goal made it 4-1 at 18:07.
Finally, with just under a minute left in the period, Holmberg broke up a Haydn Fleury pass attempt in the Winnipeg end and got the puck to Cirelli. Cirelli fed Hagel for an open look, and Hagel scored the fifth Lightning goal at 19:03.
The Lightning allowed two rush goals just under two minutes apart in the first half of the third period, giving the Jets some life. When Kyle Connor scored a sixth-attacker goal at 17:12, it was 5-4. But Holmberg sealed the win with an empty-netter at 18:29, securing the Lightning’s sixth consecutive home win to start the season. That tied a franchise record.
It was a tough line for Vasilevskiy, who played well despite allowing four goals on 21 shots. The Jets were more dangerous than the stats might indicate. But the Lightning will gladly bank the two points and get ready to end the month with a road game in Nashville on Saturday afternoon.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Bobby “The Chief” Taylor:
- Pontus Holmberg — Lightning. Career-high four points.
- Brandon Hagel — Lightning. Goal and two assists.
- Anthony Cirelli — Lightning. Goal and two assists.
