Jake Guentzel scored once in regulation and earned the shootout win as the Tampa Bay Lightning downed the Anaheim Ducks, 4-3, at Amalie Arena tonight. Nikita Kucherov had two points, while Victor Hedman added the 600th assist of his career.
Anaheim opened the scoring with a tip-in shot from Troy Terry following an expired Bolt power play. The Lightning passed well; however, they struggled to garner a shot during the power play. Fans noted the Lightning’s overpassing game in recent weeks as “Shoot!” chants rang through the arena.
The frustration continued when Tampa Bay gave up the goal.
The Lightning would rebound during their next power play, with Brandon Hagel getting a puck through to Anthony Cirelli for Cirelli’s 18th goal. Victor Hedman earned a secondary assist when he found Hagel cross-ice. The 600th assist by Hedman was one of the fastest a defenseman has earned in the NHL.
“If you play 600 games in this league, that’s a big career,” Head coach Jon Cooper said after the game. “But to reach 600 assists. It just goes to show you the level he’s (Hedman) played at for his entire career.”
“It’s a consistency thing, and he’s been fantastic at that.”
Special Teams Step Up
The Lightning power play entered the game 15th in the league at 19 percent. The Bolts followed their earlier power play goal with another when Guentzel poked the puck past Lukas Dostal early in the second period.
Tampa Bay continued to play strong the first half of the period. However, Anaheim would equalize as Leo Carlsson shot one past Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Undeterred, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov found themselves on a breakaway against Ducks Defenseman Olen Zellweger. Point squared up and shot through Dostal. Zellweger attempted to block the shot with his skate. Unfortunately for Anaheim, Zellweger was clearly behind the goal line with the puck hit his skate, and after review a goal was awarded to Point.
Never a doubt in our mind! pic.twitter.com/nP68crFFaY
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) January 17, 2025
The Bolt penalty kill was also affective tonight shutting down the Ducks. During one Anaheim power play in the second period, Tampa Bay had four potential shorthanded breakaways. The aggression showed by the Lightning on the penalty kill stymied the Ducks all night.
Guentzel, Vasilevskiy Win it in a Shootout
Tampa Bay played a strong third period, yet could not put Anaheim away. Robby Fabbri tipped-in a Jacob Trouba shot from the point halfway through the period.
After a scoreless overtime, Guentzel got the opening goal off of Dostal. Vasilevskiy would close out the victory by keeping Carlsson, Mason McTavish, and Terry out of the net.
The win helped the Bolts ease the memory of a dismal outing in Boston earlier this week.
Three Players of the Game
1. Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay. Guentzel continues to make a name for himself in Tampa and wins it in the shootout.
2. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay. Vasilevskiy made some great saves and held Anaheim at bay late.
3. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay. Hedman earned his 600th career assist.
Up Next
The Tampa Bay Lightning will host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday at Amalie Arena at 7 p.m.
