Our beloved Bolts were back together tonight after a two-week hiatus. Before the break, the Lightning were surging. They had won four straight to catapult themselves into third place in the Atlantic division– in striking distance of first place. During their last two games before the break, the Bolts relied heavily on netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy to keep them in the games. They continued that pattern tonight as Vasilevskiy stonewalled the Seattle Kraken for most of this game to give his team all they needed to pull out a 4-1 victory and extend their win streak to five games!
Beloved Bolts are Back
It had been two full weeks since Lightning fans last saw their beloved Bolts in action. Sure, several of our stars had been out representing their countries in the Four Nations Face-off over that span. But it was nice to see the boys back together donning their Lightning blue jerseys.
Many NHL teams returned to action yesterday, including today’s opponent– the Seattle Kraken. The Kraken did the Bolts a favor last night by defeating the division leading Florida Panthers in regulation. The Kraken were, no doubt, hoping to come out of the weekend in Florida with four points. But they knew they’d be facing a formidable foe tonight as before the hiatus, the Lightning had won four straight games to climb into third place in the Atlantic division.
Bolts Break the Ice
Tampa Bay was very excited to welcome JJ Moser back to the lineup. Moser had not played since December 12th and his teammates had certainly missed him! The first period of this one was pretty uneventful. No scoring, no fighting, no penalties. The Kraken outshot the Bolts 11-7. The first half of the second period featured much of the same. As the halfway point approached, a penalty was called. Erik Cernak went to the box for tripping. The Amalie faithful booed the call. But that booing was short-lived. Just 16 seconds into the Seattle power play, Brandon Hagel took a feed from Ryan McDonagh and went in on a shorthanded breakaway. He beat goaltender Ales Stezka with a beautiful backhand shot. It was Hagel’s third shortie of the year and 27th overall this season (on a night when Coach Cooper expressed after the game that Hagel almost hadn’t played tonight having picked up a bug at the end of the Four Nations).
BRANDON HAGEL SHORTHANDED ⚡
Are you not entertained?! pic.twitter.com/SOER1V7DGm
— NHL (@NHL) February 24, 2025
Beloved Bolts Finish Strong
The Lightning held the slimmest of leads going into the third period. The Kraken had been pressing for forty minutes and it was only thanks to Andrei Vasilevskiy that the Bolts maintained this lead. Vasy continued to shut the door in the final frame.
At 11:15, the Lightning gave themselves a bit of breathing room. Nikita Kucherov scored his 26th of the season on a pass from Brayden Point right off the face-off.
Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning (26) pic.twitter.com/5oM5jPSeXd
— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) February 24, 2025
And just about a minute and a half later… a little more breathing room. This time, from an unlikely suspect as Luke Glendening notched his fourth of the season to make it 3-0.
Luke Glendening – Tampa Bay Lightning (4) pic.twitter.com/BJUx22VhZy
— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) February 24, 2025
With four and a half minutes to go in regulation, Shane Wright broke Vasilevskiy’s shutout bid and pulled his team back within a pair of goals.
The Kraken pulled Stezka for the extra attacker and the Lightning thought Kucherov had scored into the empty net. The goal was called back for offside, but Nick Paul made up for it a moment later when he tallied his 17th of the season into the empty cage. No offside on that one. Bolts take it by a final score of 4-1.
The Lightning have now won five straight and have earned points in six straight. They find themselves right in the thick of the race for a top position in the Atlantic division as they head down the stretch.
Three Stars
1- Andrei Vasilevskiy– stopped 36 of 37 shots
2- Brandon Hagel– shorthanded goal, 1 assist
3- Nikita Kucherov– game winning goal (and almost a second goal)
Up Next
The homestand continues Tuesday night as the Edmonton Oilers come to town. Note the 7:30 scheduled puck drop.
