GAME ANALYSIS
Saturday November 1 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – Washington Capitals 3
Bolts’ MVP of the Game: Nikita Kucherov (1 goal, 1 assist, plus-2 rating, 4 shots)
- Just more than six minutes into his return to action, Lightning right winger Ryan Callahan found the back of the net for his fourth goal of the campaign. The tally would set the tone of the night for a Tampa Bay team receiving at least one point of offensive contribution from eight different players. After falling behind 2-1 in the second period, the Bolts rallied to score three of the game’s final four goals, including defenseman Jason Garrison’s game-winning blast early in the third frame. Dynamic rookie forward Nikita Kucherov continued his stretch of impressive play, posting a plus-two rating and contributing on the scoresheet with both a goal and an assist.
Thursday November 6 – Tampa Bay Lightning 5 – Calgary Flames 2
Bolts’ MVP of the Game: Cedric Paquette (2 goals, plus-2 rating, 4 shots)
- In just his fifth career regular season contest at the NHL level, Lightning forward Cedric Paquette made a strong case for a permanent roster spot in Tampa Bay. Despite an impressive playoff performance last spring, the 2012 fourth round draft pick began the year with Syracuse of the AHL. Now, with injuries taking their toll on the Lightning, Paquette is making the most of his opportunity. First, midway through the opening period, Paquette took a feed from fellow rookie Jonathan Drouin and used excellent body position to shield the puck from two defenders, emerge in front of the net and finish the play for a goal. Later, on his first shift of the second period, Paquette corralled a loose puck in front and buried it for his second goal of the evening. It was a statement performance from a player clearly uninterested in returning to the AHL anytime soon. Tampa Bay forwards Brian Boyle, Tyler Johnson and Valtteri Filppula all found their way into the goal column as well, leading the Bolts to a 5-2 home-ice victory over the Flames.
Saturday November 8 – Tampa Bay Lightning 7 – Columbus Blue Jackets 4
Bolts’ MVP of the Game: Ryan Callahan (1 goal, 2 assists, plus-2 rating, 4 shots)
- In the first contest of a brief weekend road trip, the Lightning came out firing on all cylinders. With back-up Anton Forsberg between the pipes for Columbus, Tampa Bay exploded offensively, scoring four goals in the opening period. Right wing Ryan Callahan enjoyed his best performance of the season, chipping in with a goal and a pair of assists. The Blue Jackets received two power-play goals of contribution off the stick of former Flyer Scott Hartnell, but it simply wasn’t enough to pull Columbus even. Lightning reserve netminder Evgeni Nabokov was shaky once again, but managed to do enough for his team to emerge victorious, finishing the evening with 28 saves on 32 shots faced.
Sunday November 9 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – Detroit Red Wings 3 – (SHOOTOUT)
Bolts’ MVP of the Game: Ryan Callahan (2 assists, 4 shots, shootout game-winner)
- In a contest highlighted by a pair of prolific power-play units, the first meeting of the 2014 season between Detroit and Tampa Bay came right down to the wire. Lightning captain Steven Stamkos was up to his usual tricks, recording another pair of goals, including one on the man-advantage. After falling behind 3-1, the Red Wings managed to even the score and force overtime on goals from Darren Helm and Gustav Nyquist. In the shootout, Ryan Callahan finished as the lone goal-scorer, as Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop performed impeccably, stopping all three Detroit shooters. With the win, the Bolts have now recorded a season-high six consecutive victories, earning them 23 points and a spot atop the Atlantic Division, the Eastern Conference and tied with Anaheim as the top team in the NHL. On the road against a playoff team during the second night of a back-to-back, Tampa Bay couldn’t have asked for a better result in this one.
INJURY REPORT
| Team | Player | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Brett Connolly | Sat, Oct 25, 2014 | lower body | is out indefinitely |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Victor Hedman | Sun, Oct 19, 2014 | broken right hand | is on injured reserve and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Alex Killorn | Sun, Nov 9, 2014 | upper body | missed Sunday’s game against Detroit |
ROSTER MOVES
The Bolts called up forward Cedric Paquette, due to the injury to Alex Killorn.
THREE STARS OF THE WEEK
- Ryan Callahan – 2 goals, 4 assists, plus-3 rating, 12 shots in 4 GP
- Tyler Johnson – 4 goals, 2 assists, plus-5 rating, 15 shots in 4 GP
- Cedric Paquette – 3 goals, plus-3 rating, 8 shots in 3 GP
STANDINGS AND TEAM STATISTICS
| Rk | Team | AvAge | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | PTS% | GF | GA | SRS | SOS | TG/G | PP | PPO | PP% | PPA | PPOA | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anaheim Ducks | 16 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 23 | .719 | 41 | 32 | 0.49 | -0.08 | 4.56 | 12 | 60 | 20.00 | 8 | 52 | 84.62 | |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 23 | .767 | 58 | 41 | 1.04 | -0.10 | 6.60 | 14 | 53 | 26.42 | 11 | 46 | 76.09 | |
| 3 | Vancouver Canucks | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 22 | .688 | 49 | 44 | 0.21 | -0.11 | 5.81 | 11 | 56 | 19.64 | 8 | 58 | 86.21 | |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 21 | .808 | 55 | 27 | 2.04 | -0.12 | 6.31 | 21 | 56 | 37.50 | 6 | 52 | 88.46 | |
| 5 | Montreal Canadiens | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 21 | .700 | 37 | 42 | -0.24 | 0.09 | 5.27 | 3 | 39 | 7.69 | 9 | 61 | 85.25 | |
| 6 | Calgary Flames | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 20 | .625 | 49 | 41 | 0.55 | 0.05 | 5.63 | 11 | 53 | 20.75 | 10 | 44 | 77.27 | |
| 7 | Nashville Predators | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 20 | .714 | 35 | 28 | 0.78 | 0.28 | 4.50 | 6 | 41 | 14.63 | 11 | 39 | 71.79 | |
| 8 | Los Angeles Kings | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 19 | .633 | 37 | 30 | 0.30 | -0.17 | 4.47 | 6 | 49 | 12.24 | 10 | 58 | 82.76 | |
| 9 | St. Louis Blues | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 19 | .679 | 35 | 28 | 0.52 | 0.02 | 4.50 | 12 | 49 | 24.49 | 10 | 49 | 79.59 | |
| 10 | Detroit Red Wings | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 19 | .633 | 40 | 37 | 0.36 | 0.16 | 5.13 | 11 | 59 | 18.64 | 6 | 53 | 88.68 | |
| 11 | San Jose Sharks | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 18 | .563 | 50 | 46 | 0.13 | -0.12 | 6.00 | 14 | 52 | 26.92 | 9 | 50 | 82.00 | |
| 12 | Winnipeg Jets | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 18 | .600 | 30 | 32 | 0.08 | 0.21 | 4.13 | 6 | 49 | 12.24 | 7 | 58 | 87.93 | |
| 13 | Boston Bruins | 15 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 18 | .600 | 43 | 35 | 0.26 | -0.27 | 5.20 | 9 | 41 | 21.95 | 9 | 47 | 80.85 | |
| 14 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 18 | .600 | 47 | 42 | 0.19 | -0.15 | 5.93 | 11 | 54 | 20.37 | 9 | 55 | 83.64 | |
| 15 | New York Islanders | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | .643 | 42 | 42 | -0.10 | -0.10 | 6.00 | 12 | 55 | 21.82 | 13 | 45 | 71.11 | |
| 16 | Ottawa Senators | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 17 | .607 | 38 | 34 | 0.37 | 0.09 | 5.14 | 12 | 55 | 21.82 | 8 | 53 | 84.91 | |
| 17 | Chicago Blackhawks | 15 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 17 | .567 | 41 | 28 | 1.01 | 0.14 | 4.60 | 11 | 58 | 18.97 | 4 | 45 | 91.11 | |
| 18 | Philadelphia Flyers | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 16 | .571 | 45 | 43 | 0.23 | 0.09 | 6.29 | 11 | 49 | 22.45 | 9 | 45 | 80.00 | |
| 19 | Washington Capitals | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 15 | .536 | 45 | 42 | 0.16 | -0.05 | 6.21 | 13 | 45 | 28.89 | 11 | 48 | 77.08 | |
| 20 | New Jersey Devils | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 14 | .500 | 38 | 45 | -0.34 | 0.16 | 5.93 | 10 | 47 | 21.28 | 20 | 58 | 65.52 | |
| 21 | New York Rangers | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 14 | .500 | 39 | 46 | -0.61 | -0.11 | 6.07 | 5 | 38 | 13.16 | 10 | 49 | 79.59 | |
| 22 | Minnesota Wild | 13 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 14 | .538 | 37 | 29 | 0.74 | 0.13 | 5.08 | 2 | 40 | 5.00 | 5 | 37 | 86.49 | |
| 23 | Colorado Avalanche | 16 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 13 | .406 | 40 | 50 | -0.44 | 0.19 | 5.63 | 8 | 59 | 13.56 | 8 | 65 | 87.69 | |
| 24 | Edmonton Oilers | 15 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 13 | .433 | 38 | 51 | -0.95 | -0.08 | 5.93 | 6 | 48 | 12.50 | 8 | 38 | 78.95 | |
| 25 | Arizona Coyotes | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 13 | .464 | 34 | 47 | -0.94 | -0.01 | 5.79 | 11 | 55 | 20.00 | 12 | 47 | 74.47 | |
| 26 | Florida Panthers | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 | .500 | 20 | 30 | -0.98 | -0.15 | 4.17 | 6 | 42 | 14.29 | 12 | 52 | 76.92 | |
| 27 | Dallas Stars | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 12 | .429 | 40 | 50 | -0.32 | 0.40 | 6.43 | 9 | 52 | 17.31 | 12 | 50 | 76.00 | |
| 28 | Carolina Hurricanes | 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 11 | .423 | 31 | 43 | -1.37 | -0.45 | 5.69 | 9 | 47 | 19.15 | 9 | 45 | 80.00 | |
| 29 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 14 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 9 | .321 | 36 | 51 | -1.25 | -0.18 | 6.21 | 13 | 58 | 22.41 | 12 | 52 | 76.92 | |
| 30 | Buffalo Sabres | 16 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 8 | .250 | 20 | 54 | -1.95 | 0.17 | 4.63 | 2 | 50 | 4.00 | 11 | 58 | 81.03 | |
| League Average | 15 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 16 | .565 | 40 | 40 | -0.02 | 0.00 | 5.47 | 10 | 50 | 19.02 | 10 | 50 | 80.79 |
LOOKING AHEAD
The Lightning will wrap-up their Midwest road trip on Tuesday evening with a visit to the United Center for a showdown against the Chicago Blackhawks. They will then return to Tampa Bay for a pair of home contests against the San Jose Sharks and New York Islanders at Amalie Arena. From there, the Bolts will travel to New York City for a back-to-back set against the Rangers and Islanders next Monday and Tuesday.
(Photos/Susan Ferlita)
(Feature Box Photo/Tarra Dunlop)
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