Heading into the third game of a four-game road trip, the Tampa Bay Lightning found themselves on a 10-game point streak while scoring at least four goals in each of their previous five games. Taking on the Calgary Flames, a team that was 10-2-1 going into this game, the Lightning sought to continue their goal-scoring prowess while finding a way to slow down their recent trend of allowing a high number of shots on goal. Going into their matchup with the Flames, the Bolts had allowed an average of 43 shots on goal in their previous three contests, all with Andrei Vasilevskiy in net.
While the trend of high shot volume continued against Calgary, Louis Domingue was up to the task again, coming up with 33 saves on 37 shots as the Lightning edged the Flames 5-4 in a shootout at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Ondrej Palat, Steven Stamkos, Alex Killorn, and Dan Girardi scored in regulation, while J.T. Miller picked up the winner in the shootout. With the win, the Lightning are now 10-0-1 in their past 11 games.
Big start for Calgary
The Lightning struggled to find their offensive game in the first period giving up goals while still finding the back of the net themselves. Calgary seemed to be quicker and faster on the puck, along with scouting out Tampa’s every move. Calgary put stress on Tampa’s defense with a lot of net battles and lots of offensive play in the Lightning zone. The Bolts slowly battled back in the last four minutes and rallied some shots together. However, despite Ondrej Palat’s early goal, they trailed 3-1 heading into the intermission.
The tides turned
The Lightning bounced back with an impressive second period, tying the game 3-3 with a pair of goals just 2:33 apart. Tampa Bay did a great job of getting to the net and battling while improving defensively and limiting some work on Domingue in the second. One of the Lightning’s goals was scored by Steven Stamkos, who passed Martin St. Louis with his 366th goal, good for second place in franchise history. Alex Killorn notched the other goal after a wild scramble in front of the net. Tampa Bay had three power plays this period, but could not capitalize on any of the them.
Trading goals in the third
The first five minutes of the third period belonged to the Flames, as Calgary swarmed Tampa Bay in their own zone. Elias Lindholm of the Flames had an incredible chance in the third as he took a shot and it hit the post, almost putting the Flames ahead one goal. The Lightning returned the favor, putting the pressure on Calgary with about ten minutes left and swarming Flames goalie David Rittich, but he rose to the challenge and came up with a couple of key saves, finishing with 32 of them on 36 Lightning shots for the evening. The third period had a physical feel as it had tighter checking and a lot of zone time in the Lightning’s end. Tampa Bay and Calgary traded goals in the final minutes, as the Bolts got one from Dan Girardi and Calgary tied it up soon after thanks to Johnny Gaudreau.
Domingue rises to the challenge, allowing the Lightning to prevail
With the game tied 4-4 going into OT, Domingue kept the Lightning in it, a fast-paced OT mainly controlled by the Flames. Calgary recorded eight shots on Domingue and rose to the challenge and stopped all eight. Eventually, the game went to a shootout. Victor Hedman shot first for Tampa Bay and scored, and in the second round, Flames forward Sean Monahan scored. After that, it became a goaltending show as both Domingue and Rittich came up big for their teams until the seventh round when Domingue stopped Mark Jankowski. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper sent out J.T. Miller, and Miller capitalized on it, scoring to give the win to the Bolts
Our Three Stars of the Game
Third Star: JT Miller – Game winning shootout goal.
Second Star: David Rittich – Made key saves for his team, stopping 32 of 36 shots.
First Star: Louis Domingue – Settled down after a rough first period. Kept Tampa Bay in it with big saves in the third period, overtime, and the shootout, stopping 33 of 37 shots.
Up Next
The Lightning finish their four-game road trip on Saturday in Edmonton when they take on the Oilers at 10 pm.
