Despite New Jersey doubling Tampa Bay in shots on goal through the game’s first period, it was the home team that buried its scoring chances.
The Lightning held a 2-0 lead through 20 minutes thanks to its leading goal scorers this season.
Guentzel started the scoring 11:40 into the game. An errant New Jersey pass leaked into the neutral zone, where Guentzel burst past every other skater to create a breakaway and bury his shot through the legs of New Jersey goalie Jacob Markstrom.
A strong forecheck doubled the home team’s lead late—forward Brandon Hagel pressured New Jersey defenseman Brenden Dillon in the offensive zone with a hit into the endboards, creating a puck battle won by linemate Anthony Cirelli.
Cirelli dished a no-look backhand pass to Nikita Kucherov, who quickly ripped his shot into the top corner of the net from the right hashmark with 21.4 seconds remaining in the first period.
Guentzel’s second goal of the night came on a power play midway through the second period, this one on a redirection at the left post following defenseman Darren Raddysh’s shot-pass from the point to make it 3-0.
“Shot-first mentality and just a lot of good plays out there,” Guentzel said of the power play on Tuesday. “They made it easy for me on those two goals.”
Guentzel capped the hat-trick with his second power-play goal of the night, burying Kucherov’s centering pass into the top of the net to make it 5-1 with 12:12 left in the game.
Vasilevskiy was repeatedly tested in the first period of Tuesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, stacking together 14 saves through the opening 20 minutes alone.
It was one of his finer displays of the season, evidenced by a key save in the middle frame—with five minutes remaining in the second period of a 3-0 game, he made a sprawling glove save to keep the Devils off the board.
He finished with 31 saves for his seventh win of the season.
The Devils scored their lone goal with 2:13 remaining in the second period on an unfortunate bounce near the Lightning net.
Devils forward Nico Hischier kicked the puck into the net, a play that was initially nullified by a ‘No goal’ call. The call was reversed upon official review because the officials ruled the puck propelled into the net after hitting the glove of Lightning defenseman JJ Moser after hitting Hischier’s skate, making it 3-1.
Tampa Bay nullified the unlucky goal against by scoring the 4-1 goal before the third period reached its fifth minute. Raddysh fired a slap shot through Markstrom 4:49 into the final period to restore the three-goal lead.
“We just talked about it going into the third is, we can’t change our game. We've got to go and for the last 20 there just be a little bit harder, a little bit faster, protecting that lead, getting pucks in behind,” Cirelli said. “I thought we did that there in the third and just kind of for that 20 minutes just laid it all on the line there.”
