There was no holding back the Tampa Bay Lightning or defenseman Darren Raddysh on Thursday night.
Then again, that’s been the case for much of the 2025-26 season.
Raddysh’s latest highlight-reel package featured a goal and two assists, including the game-winner in the second period, leading the Lightning to a 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets at Benchmark International Arena.
The win improves Tampa Bay to 34-14-4 this season, including 16-1-1 in their previous 18 games.
“We’re not the perfect team by any means, but they know how to self correct, they know when they’re stepping out of line a little,” coach Jon Cooper said of his team postgame. “They’re just consistent plays, and they’re not shooting themselves in the foot, and that was a big part of why we were not having success early in the year. And then when we do break down and a breakaway happens, Big Cat’s there to stop it. And so, it’s just a huge momentum swing for us on the bench.”
Tampa Bay played a patient game to find the game’s first goal, which finally came with five minutes left in the first period.
Defenseman JJ Moser sent a pass from his own zone to Raddysh at the offensive blue line, where the latter held off a Jets player before tapping the puck to a speeding Dominic James just inside the offensive zone.
James sped to the bottom of the left circle and snuck his shot through the legpads of Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck for the 1-0 goal with 5:02 left in the period.
“They were kind of pressing up on us, and I thought maybe the other defense might have a chance, and luckily Mo made a great pass,” Raddysh said of the play. “And I heard Dom coming through the middle, so I just put it to him, and Dom made a great play.”
Raddysh built on the Lightning lead just 1:37 into the second period, pounding his slap shot from the right point through Hellebuyck after Zemgus Girgensons and Yanni Gourde disrupted a Winnipeg breakout attempt below the goal line.
The visitors found their way onto the scoresheet with 7:35 left in the middle frame, their goal coming on a Kyle Connor redirection following a shot from the blue line.
Tampa Bay didn’t need to stress for long, as the home team restored their two-goal advantage less than three minutes after the Connor tally.
Raddysh got the puck atop the Jets’ zone during a delayed penalty call and sent a pass to Nikita Kucherov at the right boards, where Tampa Bay’s leading scorer zipped a pass to Gourde in the inner hashmarks. Gourde redirected the puck through Hellebuyck for a 3-1 lead with 4:43 left in the second.
“Yanni’s been around for a long time and he plays a hard game,” Raddysh said of Gourde, “And what he does, not many guys can do. So to see him get rewarded tonight was awesome.”
The Lightning silenced the Jets in the third period, outshooting the visitors 16 to four.
“Every TV timeout I kept looking at the shots, and Winnipeg stayed the same for like three TV timeouts,” Cooper said of the third period. “That’s when I was having a pretty good vibe for what was going on…The guys are doing a hell of a job.”
Raddysh led the Lightning with three points on Thursday and will end January with six goals and 18 points in 13 games. It marks the second-most points posted during a calendar month by any defenseman in team history, beaten only by the 21 points (goal, 20 assists) posted by captain Victor Hedman in April 2022.
Raddysh now has 47 points in 46 games this season. He sat tied for third in the league for goals and was sixth for points among defensemen after Thursday.
Gourde finished with a season-high three points to co-lead the Lightning offensively on a night that Kucherov and Girgensons each contributed two points.
Kucherov scored the 4-1 goal into an empty Winnipeg net with 1:08 remaining in the game. The goal was the 32-year-old forward’s 384th career marker, passing Vincent Lecavalier for the second-most goals in franchise history.
“I thought that we played a really solid third period. It was just smart hockey and taking care of the puck and making sure we were above them,” Gourde said postgame. “We played great defensively in the third period, so that really helped us.”
Kucherov extended his point streak to six games in the victory, and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 22 saves for his fifth straight win. Defenseman Ryan McDonagh returned to the lineup after a 15-game absence due to a lower-body injury and played 20:37 while blocking three shots.
The Lightning now turn their attention to the Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series, set for 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Raymond James Stadium against the Boston Bruins.
Benjamin’s Three Stars:
- Darren Raddysh, TBL (Goal, 2 assists)
- Yanni Gourde, TBL (Goal, 2 assists)
- Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL (22 saves)
