The Tampa Bay Lightning took down the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 on Tuesday night to extend their winning streak to six games. If you include the overtime loss to the New York Islanders, the Lightning have gotten at least a point in every game this month.
Following a rough patch in the latter half of January, they’ve been able to turn it around and dominate throughout February. On that note, here are three takeaways from the six-game winning streak.
No Rust From the Break
Sure, it helps that most of the star players were participating in the 4 Nations Face-Off, but going into a two-week stoppage of the season normally doesn’t help with the momentum that keeps a winning streak going. On top of that, notable players including Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Erik Cernak and JJ Moser weren’t getting live action during that time. Had they been slow out of the break, that wouldn’t have been too surprising, especially with how streaky they can be.
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But crisis avoided for them. They came back in and played strong hockey in both games since the season resumed. The Lightning won both games by the same score, 4-1. However, both wins had different paths to getting there.
The Seattle Kraken outshot the Lightning 37-24 and the Lightning got no help from the officials. They had zero power plays. On the flipside for the Oilers game, they outshot their opponent 36-24 and took advantage of a 5-on-3 power play to pull ahead.
Two games after the break saw them find different ways to win.
In Vasilevskiy We Trust
The Lightning are succeeding when their star goalie is popping off. The sky is also blue today.
But in all seriousness, the teams they’ve played during this winning streak have been pounding the net. The 24 shots by the Oilers were the fewest allowed during this stretch. The other five games saw at least 28 shots allowed and three of the games saw at least 35 shots allowed. The defense was bending, but the last line of defense didn’t break.
He’s played in all six games and has a .936 save percentage (SV%) and has brought his season-wide SV% to .920. There’s a lot of hockey left, but it’s worth noting that he hasn’t finished with a .920 SV% or better since 2020-21, the year the Lightning repeated as Stanley Cup champions. When he’s on, this team is always going to be a force.
Supporting Cast Chipping In Also Helps
We can’t discuss this winning streak without giving a shoutout to the bottom six guys who have gotten the job done. Each member of the Lightning’s fourth line has picked up multiple points.
Mikey Eyssimont has gotten on the scoresheet in three straight games. He had an assist against the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 9 and then the Kraken on Feb. 23. In the win over the Oilers, he scored his fifth goal of the season to tie it up 1-1 in the first period. Nearly one-third of his points have been picked up in this time. It’s impeccable timing.
Luke Glendening has a goal and two assists during this stretch. His goal came in a back-and-forth win against the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 4 that started the current streak.
He then had an assist the following game on Feb. 6, also against the Senators, and then another against the Kraken.
Nick Perbix picked up two points on two assists. He had an assist in the second win over the Senators and then one against the Detroit Red Wings on Feb. 8.
An important part of the Lightning’s success during those deep playoff runs has been the supporting cast stepping up and getting on the scoresheet. This winning streak shows it’s been no different. The stars carry a lot of the weight, but this puts them over the top.
The Lightning look to continue their winning streak on Thursday, Feb. 27, when they host the Calgary Flames. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. EST.
