Lightning aim to continue run against Jets
Maybe all it took for the Tampa Bay Lightning to regain their regular season form from a year ago was a transatlantic flight. The Lightning will look to extend a season-long winning streak and build off one of the biggest outbursts in franchise history Saturday afternoon, when they host the Winnipeg Jets. Both teams were off Friday after earning wins Thursday, when the host Lightning routed the New York Rangers 9-3 and the Jets embarked upon a four-game road trip by edging the Florida Panthers 4-3. The win was the third straight for the Lightning while the nine goals tied a franchise record set almost exactly 16 years earlier on Nov. 8, 2003, when Tampa Bay cruised past the Pittsburgh Penguins 9-0. The Lightning's previous two wins were far narrower victories over the Buffalo Sabres -- a 3-2 victory on Nov. 8 and a 5-3 win the next night in "Global Series" games in Stockholm. The homecoming Thursday certainly was a prolific one for the Lightning, who hadn't played at Amalie Arena since Oct. 26. Tampa Bay scored four goals in the first 6:42 of the first period -- shattering the previous franchise record for fastest game-opening four-goal flurry, set in a span of 11:25 against the New Jersey Devils last Nov. 25 -- and ended up scoring five power play goals, tying the team record established in a 6-1 win over the Sabres on March 19, 1995. The three straight wins for the Lightning are their most since a seven-game streak from March 9-21. Tampa Bay finished with a record-tying 62 regular season victories last season. "These are unique games because in this league, nobody is 9-3 better than the other," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said Thursday night. "We're trying to get a little traction and to come back and have all these road games and now to get some at home, it's good to do that in front of the home fans." The Jets continued their own surge Thursday, when Mark Scheifele and Adam Lowry scored the tie-breaking and insurance goals in a span of 2:10 late in the third period. The Jets have collected points in six of their past seven games (5-1-1) following a 6-7-0 start. Winnipeg allowed four goals or more six times in its first 13 games but has done so just once in the past seven games. "It's a scrappy group," Jets head coach Paul Maurice said following Thursday's win. "They're trying to hang with the D. We have young guys on the wings and an inexperienced group back there. But they'll battle and battle on pucks." The Lightning's top goalie. Andrei Vasilevskiy, likely will start again Saturday after earning the win Thursday, when he recorded 20 saves against the Rangers. Jets backup goalie Laurent Brossoit started and won Thursday, which means Connor Hellebuyck probably will return to the net Saturday. Hellebuyck last played Tuesday, when he took the loss after stopping 21 shots in Winnipeg's 4-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Vasilevskiy is 3-2-1 in six career games against the Jets. Hellebuyck is 2-1-1 in five games against the Lightning. --Field Level Media |