The Tampa Bay Lightning showed why they are again the favorites to win another Stanley Cup this season in their 3-0 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night.
This was the third consecutive game that these two teams have played against each other and the fourth time they have met this season.
This was the most impressive win that the Lightning have had this season, playing a solid game at both ends of the ice.
When the Lightning plays defense the way they did against Carolina on Wednesday night, they are hard to beat.
This defensive effort was reminiscent of the defense we saw from the Lightning in last season’s march to the Stanley Cup.
What made this win more impressive is how they dominated the play on both ends of the ice.
Carolina had shut out the Lightning 1-0 in the first game of the season and then shut out the Bolts 4-0 in the second game between the two teams this season.
The Lightning looked lost in those two games. They had no answers for what Carolina was doing offensively. The Hurricanes were better at handling the puck, getting to the loose pucks, and played a better game defensively.
The Canes were more physical and the quicker team in those two losses.
The Lightning regrouped and played an outstanding game Monday night in Raleigh, shutting down the Hurricanes 4-2.
Wednesday night, The Lightning played a masterpiece both offensively and defensively, shutting out Carolina 3-0 in what has to be the best game the Lightning have played this season.
In his first NHL game, Ross Colton scored his first career goal at 6:43 of the first period to put the Lightning up 1-0. That would prove to be the game-winner in the Lightning’s 3-0 win.
It’s good to see Syracuse’s young talent finally get a chance to get an opportunity with the big-league club.
Alex Barre-Boulet scored his first NHL goal in his NHL debut on Monday Night.
Jon Cooper talked about the impressive win for the Lightning in his post-game press conference. “It was a good team win. The Hurricanes are an exceptional team. They’re tough to play against, and for us to have success, we’ve got to limit how many shots they get to the net, and I thought we did a pretty good job tonight.”
The Lightning limited Carolina to 25 shots on goal.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, who recorded his first shutout of the season, appreciated the defensive effort. “Great effort by our guys. First two periods, I didn’t have that much work. Only in the third was when they started pushing us. Just a great job defensively and a huge two goals. That was enough for us to win because we played well defensively.”
The Lightning will play Carolina again on Thursday night before finally getting a chance to play the Dallas Stars for the first time this season on Saturday.
