Woodward: Tampa Bay Lightning Weekly Report

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Tampa Bay Lightning Weekly Report, where the staff here at LightningShout will break down everything you need to know in preparation for another week of Bolts’ hockey. In each post, we will include a brief breakdown of every recent game, present Tampa Bay’s key performers of the week and analyze all potential roster moves by the Lightning. This week, we catch up with the Lightning a midst a five-game West Coast road trip, where they have completed three of their five scheduled games. (Photos/Susan Ferlita)

Saturday, October 18 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – Vancouver Canucks 2

Bolts’ MVP of the Game:  Steven Stamkos (2 goals, 1 assist, plus-2 rating, 5 shots)

• After a tough one-goal loss against New Jersey in the final contest of their season-opening homestand, it was important for the Lightning to begin their lengthy road trip with a solid performance. Anchored by another dominant showing from team captain Steven Stamkos, the Lightning answered the bell, emerging with a 4-2 road victory over the new-look Vancouver Canucks. Stamkos chipped in with a pair of first period tallies and then assisted on Ryan Callahan’s game-winning power-play goal late in the second period. Goaltender Ben Bishop was superb in this one, stopping 30 of the 32 Vancouver shots he faced.

Monday, October 20 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Edmonton Oilers 3

Bolts’ MVP of the Game:  Brett Connolly (1 goal, plus-2 rating, 2 shots)

• Despite the much-anticipated debut of star prospect Jonathan Drouin, the Lightning came out flat in Monday night’s game against the struggling Oilers. In undoubtedly their worst defensive showing of the season, Tampa Bay allowed more odd-man rushes in this one game than they had in their previous five outings combined. It wasn’t all bad news for Tampa Bay, as Drouin performed as good as they could have expected, fitting in perfectly on the team’s second-line. In a bit of irony, it was Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Drouin’s former Team Canada linemate at the World Juniors, who sealed the 3-2 victory for Edmonton with a late third period goal.

Tuesday, October 21 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Calgary Flames 1

Bolts’ MVP of the Game:  Anton Stralman (1 assist, plus-2 rating, 2 shots)

• Through more than two periods of action in Tuesday’s contest in Calgary, the

  

  Lightning accumulated just 15 shots on goal. While the Flames do deserve credit for jamming the neutral zone and preventing Tampa Bay’s speed from burning them, this was simply not the performance the Lightning were looking for. In the final three minutes of action, Tampa Bay’s top-line came through with the spark they needed, as Valtteri Filpulla found the back of the net and sent the game to overtime. In the extra frame, sophomore forward Ondrej Palat buried the game-winner, helping Tampa Bay emerge from their West Canada voyage with a 2-1-0 record.

INJURY REPORT

Radko Gudas – Tampa Bay’s hard-hitting blueliner has been sidelined since the opening weekend of the season. He is day-to-day and could make a return to action on Friday in Winnipeg.

Alex Killorn – Returning to practice on Thursday was a good sign for Killorn’s chances of playing on Friday night. He has been absent from the Lightning lineup since being injured in a collision with the boards during Monday’s morning skate.

Ryan Callahan – After leaving Monday’s contest against the Oilers with a lower-body injury, Callahan is expected to be sidelined for the remainder of Tampa Bay’s current road trip.

Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay’s franchise defenseman remains on injured reserve after suffering a fractured finger on October 18 in Vancouver.

THREE STARS OF THE WEEK

• Steven Stamkos (2 goals, 1 assist, plus-3 rating, 10 shots in 3 GP)
• Ondrej Palat (1 goal, 2 assists, plus-3 rating, 4 shots in 3 GP)
• Tyler Johnson (3 assists, plus-2 rating, 11 shots in 3 GP)

LOOKING AHEAD

The Lightning will remain on the road for two more contests before returning home to Tampa Bay early next week. On Friday night, the Bolts will pay a visit to the MTS Centre in Winnipeg for an 8 P.M. showdown against the Jets. It will then be a quick turnaround for the team, as they will take off for Minnesota, where the second-half of a back-to-back awaits them on Saturday evening. From there, the Lightning will return home to host the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday at Amalie Arena.

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