Lightning Defeat Flames 4-2
TAMPA – Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat each scored power play goals, Yanni Gourde notched a short handed goal, Alex Killorn added a goal of his own, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 18 saves as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Calgary Flames 4-3 Saturday afternoon at Amalie Arena.
With the win, the Bolts halt their four game losing streak and improve to 41-19-5 (87 points) and 21-9-2 at home.
The Lightning’s four-game losing skid was its longest in the regular season since dropping four in a row from January 3rd through 8th, 2017. With the victory they avoid losing five in a row, something they have not done since going 0-3-2 from March 2nd through 10th, 2014.
Andrew Mangiapane, Elias Lindholm, and Sean Monahan each scored and David Rittich made 30 saves for the Flames who fall to 33-26-7 (73 points).
Lightning Notes:
The Lightning improve to 3-0-0 on leap year games. They previously beat the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 29th, 2016 (2-0) and on February 29, 2008 (3-2).
Tyler Johnson’s power play goal in the first period was his 14th goal of the season. Mikhail Sergachev and Nikita Kucherov each picked up assists. The goal ended an 11-game scoreless drought for Johnson.
Ondrej Palat’s power play goal in the second period was his 16th of the season. Like Johnson’s goal, Mikhail Sergachev and Nikita Kucherov picked up assists.
It marks Kucherov’s 25th multi-point game of the season and he extends his points streak to seven games (4-6–10).
Yanni Gourde scored a short handed goal to put the Bolts up 3-0 in the second period. It was Gourde’s tenth goal of the season with assist to Cedric Paquette and Zach Bogosian. It was Gourde’s third short handed goal of his career. The assist was Bogosian’s first point as a member of the Lightning.
Alex Killorn netted his 24th goal of the season to push the Lightning lead to 4-2 in the second period. Blake Coleman and Braydon Coburn picked up assists.
Up Next For Lightning:
The Lightning will host the Boston Bruins at Amalie Arena on Tuesday night at 7:30 pm. The game will be televised nationally by NBC Sports Network.
