Tempers flared in a rough outing that saw the Lightning’s five-game win streak come to an end in Edmonton. After a night in which Stamkos scored his 500th goal Tampa faced a highly skilled Oilers team. While the team showed no signs of fatigue, the superstar talent the Oilers have became too much for the Lightning to handle. What could have been a winnable game ended up being one that slipped just out of reach as the night went on.
Home team scores first
What was expected to be a fast-moving game did in fact start that way. Minutes would go by without a stoppage of play until 14:45 remained in the period. Then, Edmonton opened up the scoring not long after a Jack Campbell save. Ryan McLeod tipped-in a shot from Vincent Desharnais that beat Andrei Vasilevskiy for the 1-0 lead. As the period went on, Tampa would struggle with puck control especially in their own zone. Thankfully, Lightning did a better job moving the puck as the period went on but still searched for an answer to Campbell. Next, Edmonton received the first power play after Pat Maroon is called for hooking.
Tempers rise
Unfortunately, the penalty would prove to be costly as the Oilers extended their lead. Lightning lost the face-off and Leon Draisaitl wasted no time to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead. Tempers then flared as both Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian were sent off for roughing. However, after a video review Kane was given another penalty for tripping giving the Bolts their first power play of the night. Oilers killed off the penalty and the period ended with the Oilers leading 2-0. Tempers continued to brew after the final whistle blew and the tone of the game was set.
Oilers take charge
As a result, Corey Perry and Darnell Nurse were giving fighting majors. As the opening face-off occurred Klim Kostin and Pat Maroon dropped the gloves. This stemmed from the hit Maroon landed on Connor McDavid in the first period. Afterwards, Lightning finally answer Campbell and cut the Oilers lead 2-1. Brandon Hagel brought the Lightning to life with the goal as they looked to tie the game. A turnover by the Lightning then gifted the Oilers a goal to answer Hagel’s. Zach Hyman gave Edmonton a 3-1 lead killing the momentum Tampa had created. It seemed the tempers from the first period never went away and were here to stay.
Lightning tie up the game
Following, Tampa then answered with a goal from the captain. On a delayed penalty call Steven Stamkos scored to make it a one goal game yet again. After, Maroon is called for tripping meaning the penalty kill went back to work. Bolts kill off the penalty keeping the score 3-2 with around 8 minutes to go in the period. Goals continued to come for Tampa this time from Brayden Point. Point perfectly shot the puck from a Victor Hedman pass to tie the game up at 3 a piece. Finally, the second period would end with Tampa finding a way to tie the game heading into the final period.
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Oilers regain the lead
After tempers began to calm as the 2nd period went on it was time to get back to work. Connor McDavid had other plans as he went one-on-one with Vasy. He then scored to give the Oilers a 4-3 lead early in the period. Minutes later Stamkos is called for a penalty which led to an important kill for the Bolts. Tampa killed off the penalty to keep it a one goal game. After, Tampa would get a chance on the power play and looked to tie the game on the man advantage. What looked like a penalty that would nullify the power play turned out to be the opposite.
Winning streak comes to an end
Nikita Kucherov was sent off for interference, but Warren Foegele was sent off for embellishment. Lightning ended up empty on the man advantage still searching for the game-tying-goal. With 2:36 left Jon Cooper decides to pull Vasy leaving an empty net for Tampa. Edmonton then scored on the empty net to extend their lead 5-3. All in all, Oilers went on to win 5-3 snapping Tampa’s win streak. Lightning will wrap up the road trip on Saturday in Calgary.
Three stars of the game
1st Star: Connor McDavid – 1 goal and 1 assist
2nd Star: Zach Hyman – 2 goals
3rd Star: Brayden Point – 1 goal and 1 assist
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