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That is not something you get to say every day in hockey. The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 to win the opening series of the season.
Nikita Kucherov will be missed, but no one would know he was gone with the way the Bolts played.
All Quiet Before Lightning Struck
The first period saw the game remain scoreless. But, before the Blackhawks could blink in the second period, the Lightning took a 3-0 lead.
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos scooped up the puck as he went around the net and flipped it to Ondrej Palat, who slapped it over the shoulder of Collin Delia to open the scoring.
Perfect timing for Pally 👏 pic.twitter.com/3ZtAcTACdV
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) January 16, 2021
After scrambling with Chicago’s zone, Alex Killorn hung onto the puck long enough in front of the net to fire over Delia’s shoulder again to make it two nothing.
The Lightning capped off their second-period scoring when Blake Coleman scored to make it 3-0.
However, before the period could come to a close, the Blackhawks scored two unanswered goals to make it 3-2. The Bolts played tight enough defense around their own net to preserve the lead heading into second intermission.
Shutdown Final Period
The Bolts held Chicago to those two goals the rest of the game. Thirteen minutes into the final period, Yanni Gourde scored his first goal of the season to make it 4-2.
Coleman's pass + Yanni's shot? 🥵🥵🥵 pic.twitter.com/abVNhsQtsh
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) January 16, 2021
To finish off the night, Brayden Point helped Palat return the favor as both assisted Stamkos’ goal to reach the final score of 5-2.
Feelin' himself 🎯 pic.twitter.com/VfZv2LVvJZ
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) January 16, 2021
That goal got Stamkos to four points in just the first two games of the season.
Three Stars of the Game
The Bolts swept Chicago, and they were scheduled to have a Stanley Cup Finals rematch in their next series against the Dallas Stars. However, that was postponed due to the Stars having 17 players test positive for COVID-19. The NHL reshuffled the schedule, but the Bolts will still have six days off until they have a different rematch against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Jan. 21.
