Andrei Vasilevskiy’s Shutout vs. Flames Propels Lightning to 7th Straight Win

The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to roll with their seventh straight victory by a score of 3-0 over the Calgary Flames. The Lightning improved their home record to 21-7-2 on the season Thursday night. Andrei Vasilevskiy was phenomenal in this game, stopping all 27 shots he faced.

Game Recap

A high-flying first period saw some sustained offensive zone pressure from the Flames and numerous odd-man rushes for the Lightning. To close the first period, Nikita Kucherov unintentionally banked a puck off MacKenzie Weegar’s skate in front of the net for a power-play goal to open the scoring.

The second period was scoreless, but both sides exchanged a few power play chances throughout the frame. On one of the power plays, Vasilevskiy robbed Jonathan Huberdeau point-blank with a “cat-like” reflex for the save. Calgary led the shot count 16-15 after 40 minutes of play but still trailed the Lightning 1-0.

Tampa Bay opened the third period with a snipe from Erik Cernak. Anthony Cirelli poked a puck to his linemate Brandon Hagel, who made a beautiful cross-slot pass to Cernak for a shot that fooled Flames’ goaltender Dustin Wolf. Then, Hagel notched an empty net goal with just under three minutes left to secure the victory. Some late-game antics between Mikey Eyssimont and Joel Hanley created a scrum in the final seconds to close the hockey game.

Looking Ahead

Despite not playing their best game at five-on-five, the Lightning held down the fort and got another two points. The Bolts sit just three points behind the Florida Panthers with two games in hand for first place in the Atlantic Division. With the NHL Trade Deadline coming up next Friday (March 7), the Lightning have an opportunity to bolster the roster to push for home-ice advantage in a playoff series.

The Lightning pick up the action on Saturday (March 1) against the powerhouse Washington Capitals. Puck drop for that game is at 12:30 p.m. Meanwhile, the Flames remain in the Sunshine State to pace the Panthers on Saturday (March 1) for a 3:00 p.m. start.

3 Stars of the Game

1. Andrei Vasilevskiy (1.000 save percentage, 0.00 goals-against average)
2. Erik Cernak (1 goal)
3. Dustin Wolf (.909 save percentage, 2.01 goals-against average)